How long should the walk across Lincoln Street at Hartford be? The City of Newton's current drawings cut one 60-foot crossing there to 30 feet. They go back before the public this evening, Thursday, Nov. 12, at 6:00 p.m. at Brigham House, 20 Hartford Street, for the second community meeting of the Newton Highlands Village Enhancement Phase 1 project, according to the Newton Highlands Community Calendar.
Two village corners are changing this month. At Four Corners, a restaurant is moving into a storefront on its owners' timeline, and the neighborhood learns the plan from permits and licensing agendas after those decisions are made. On Lincoln Street, the curbs, crossings and plaza are still open for comment, and this week's meeting is the scheduled time to give it.
What's on the Table at Brigham House This Evening
The project covers Rodney Barker Square and four intersections: Lincoln at Bowdoin, Lincoln at Hartford, Walnut at Floral, and Walnut at Station. The Newton Highlands Community Calendar's account of the first session says construction should begin in spring 2027. Apex Engineering is designing the roadway work and Toole Design is designing the square.
The first meeting on Oct. 8, held in the Linda Plaut Arts & Culture Center at Brigham House, set out four goals. The first is accessible, safer sidewalks and roadways. The second is community space for residents, businesses and visitors. The third is art, benches, lighting, historic markers and landscaping. The fourth is stormwater and sustainability work built into the infrastructure. The city's announcement says tonight's session will go through the proposed Phase 1 safety improvements in more detail and collect more input as design continues.
The October slides are concrete enough to react to. The city's Oct. 8 presentation puts real distances on each crossing, and the redesign mostly comes down to curb extensions that shorten the walk:
| Location | Crossing today | Proposed | Other features shown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln St at Bowdoin St | 49 feet | 23 feet | Partially raised intersection, colored or textured pavement, rectangular rapid flashing beacons, near Hyde Playground |
| Lincoln St at Hartford St, first crossing | 60 feet | 30 feet | Curb extensions, rapid flashing beacons |
| Lincoln St at Hartford St, second crossing | 41 feet | 29 feet | Curb extensions |
| Lincoln St at Hartford St, third crossing | 54 feet | 46 feet | Corner tightening, partially raised intersection beside Rodney Barker Square |
The largest change is at Lincoln and Hartford, where one 60-foot crossing becomes 30 feet. That puts the walk in front of Rodney Barker Square at half its current length. At Bowdoin, the 49-foot crossing near Hyde Playground drops to 23 feet, less than half.
What the Plan Keeps: Parking and Four of Six Trees
Street projects in village centers often stall over parking. According to the October slides, this one does not remove any. At Lincoln and Bowdoin, the bus stop moves. Its old curb gives back three spaces and the new location takes three, so the net change is zero. At Lincoln and Hartford, the count goes up by one. Retaining "as much parking as possible within standard design practices" is listed among the Phase 1 goals, along with lowering speeds on Lincoln Street through traffic calming.
The concept for Rodney Barker Square is a central plaza that works for everyday seating and can also host events. It keeps four of the six existing trees, sets them in planted areas, and puts structural soil under the paving so their roots have more room. The understory would be low-maintenance groundcover, and the slides call for a variety of seating rather than a single row of benches. At the October session, Karen Fitzgerald of Toole Design suggested something more personal: "It might be nice to have quotes from Rodney Barker etched in the pavement," as the Newton Highlands Community Calendar reported.
These details are still open: which two trees go, what kind of seating, whether quotes end up in the paving. They are the reason to attend a design meeting before construction. The city's Newton Highlands Village Enhancement Project page holds the presentation materials for anyone who can't make it to Hartford Street tonight. Questions can also go to the Newton Highlands Neighborhood Area Council at [email protected].
Four Corners Gets Its Next Tenant on Its Own Timetable
Half a mile of village away, at Beacon and Walnut, the change comes with no meeting attached. Sichuan Ember is preparing to open at 1134–1136 Beacon Street, the storefront Scafidi Bros. Market & Deli left in February. What Now Boston reported that co-owner John Ma plans to renovate the 1,500-square-foot space at an estimated $80,000, with 40 seats and hours of 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Permits list a target grand opening of Nov. 16, this coming Monday. The same application, filed under Beacon Venture Newton LLC, was on the agenda for Newton's Oct. 20 Licensing Commission meeting. On Nov. 4, Boston Restaurant Talk said the restaurant was aiming for the middle of the month and had not yet posted a menu.
The permits do give an early look at the kitchen. Ingredients listed include beef for cold appetizers such as fuqi feipian, braised pork belly, pork trotters, chicken feet, wood ear mushrooms, lamb, fish, shrimp, squid and jellyfish. Proposed signage reads "authentic Chinese cuisine."
The building has changed hands many times. What Now Boston lists Delitizer Deli, Diamond Bakery and Ravioli's Brick Oven Pizzeria among its past tenants, before Scafidi Bros. Fig City News noted that the Scafidi brothers' sandwich shop operated in Newton Highlands for less than a year. Each new tenant decides for itself what the corner will be. Residents first see the result in a signage permit or a licensing agenda, and Sichuan Ember followed that same path.
Newton's economic development office sees that turnover as a sign of demand. Lauren Berman, the city's Director of Economic Development, told Fig City News that "Newton continues to be a desirable place to open a restaurant," and that eager restaurateurs usually move in when a space opens up. Berman is also on the city team for the Lincoln Street project.
A Saturday on Lincoln Street Before the Curbs Move
On Saturday, Nov. 14, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Woman's Club of Newton holds its 23rd Annual Craft Fair at the Hyde Center, 90 Lincoln Street, and at the Woman's Club Workshop. Admission is free. The fair has a pop-up café, face painting for kids, a silent auction, and a raffle for a handmade quilt made by club members. Proceeds fund scholarships for Newton high school students and other charities.
Thursday evening to Saturday morning makes an easy loop. Hear about the crossings at Brigham House, then come back to the same blocks two days later to shop for the holidays. Monday's target date for Sichuan Ember gives you a reason to walk up to Beacon Street afterward.
The Longer Clock on Both Corners
Most Highlands projects take longer than one storefront changeover. The Newton Highlands Neighborhood Area Council spent 30 minutes of its Nov. 5 agenda on the Village Enhancement project. That agenda also covered Astronomy Night and the Newton Flea, along with a status update on 1186 Walnut Street. The council meets next on Dec. 3.
1186 Walnut Street, near the Newton Highlands Green Line station, is the longest-range item. The Newton Record reported that Terra Living Partners has proposed a 35-unit, income-restricted rental building with ground-floor commercial space there. Its October application projects a financial closing in the fourth quarter of 2027 if state funding is awarded, with construction lasting into early 2030.
Here are the dates for the next few weeks:
- Thursday, Nov. 12, 6:00 p.m. Village Enhancement Phase 1 community meeting, Brigham House, 20 Hartford Street.
- Saturday, Nov. 14, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Woman's Club of Newton Craft Fair, Hyde Center, 90 Lincoln Street.
- Monday, Nov. 16. Sichuan Ember's permitted target for its grand opening, 1134–1136 Beacon Street.
- Thursday, Dec. 3. Newton Highlands Neighborhood Area Council meeting.
- Spring 2027. Planned start of construction on the Lincoln Street intersections and Rodney Barker Square.
Construction is planned to start in spring 2027, and in the current drawings the 60-foot crossing at Lincoln and Hartford becomes a 30-foot walk with one more parking space than that intersection has today.
Shorter crossings, a rebuilt square and a new restaurant at Four Corners all change how a Highlands block works day to day. If you'd like help thinking through what changes like these mean for your own house on these streets, Anne M. Kennedy can walk through it with you, starting with a free home valuation.
