About Dunstan East
Dunstan East will transform an uneven stretch of Washington Street in West Newton into an attractive urban boulevard and bring an unprecedented vitality to West Newton Square.
The project is comprised of three mixed use buildings ranging from three to six stories on two blocks. All of the buildings have ground floors that are primarily comprised of retail and residential common space. The smallest building has 73 apartments and the largest has 133 apartments. Cumulatively, the three buildings offer approximately 292 apartments ranging from studios to three bedrooms. The project provides a total of 7,967 sf of retail space, which will accommodate a variety of local and regional retailers. Parking is provided in two subterranean garages that provide a total of 318 spaces. The total area of the project, excluding parking, is 370,124 sf. All of the apartments are within a 10 minute walk of both commuter rail and local and express bus stops, which will diminish automobile dependency for the residents. The two larger buildings are paired to form an interior courtyard and define the block alongWashington Street. These form a strong street wall along the north side of Washington Street which helps define the corridor and sets the edge for generous sidewalks along the retail stores that occupy the ground floors of these buildings.
The sidewalks are characterized by street trees, streetlights, and comfortable benches to encourage strolling and shopping. Parallel parking spaces line the street and protect pedestrians from the moving traffic beyond. The wide lanes of Washington Street could also be narrowed to accommodate dedicated bicycle lanes if the City desires. The smaller building is on a lot further down Kempton Place. It will front on Kempton Place as well as a new publicly accessible green space facing the Cheesecake Brook.
The interior courtyard between the two larger buildings is publicly accessible thanks to a passageway that provides an inviting connection from the bustle of Washington Street to the tranquility of the green courtyard within. This courtyard is animated by the activity of the retail stores and common spaces that surround it, making it a comfortable place for both residents and the public to enjoy. As this courtyard connects to Washington Street by the pedestrian passageway to the south, it also connects to the new Brook Road to the north by a cascading stair and an open passage. Brook Road is an intimately scaled lane that connects Kempton Place to Dunstan Street and provides a pedestrian friendly boardwalk along the Cheesecake Brook. As the site falls approximately twelve feet from Washington Street to Cheesecake Brook, it provides an opportunity for the underground parking to be accessed from the side streets and allows the northern frontage of the parking levels to be lined by unique apartment flats that have their front doors onto stoops along Brook Road. Extensive landscaping and boardwalk overlooks make the Cheesecake Brook into a valuable neighborhood amenity that includes a green park, which also provides compensatory flood storage.
The buildings range from three to six stories along Washington Street. The height of each building is purposely varied to create an interesting cornice line against the sky. As the buildings move along the side streets toward Brook Street to the north, they step down to four stories as they approach the new Brook Road. This mitigates their height and softens their appearance against the two and three story homes on the north side of Cheesecake Brook. The step-downs also allow more sunlight to reach the brook and the backyards beyond.
The architecture and fenestration of each of the buildings are intentionally varied to create a separate identity for each building and an appealing streetscape, as if it had been built incrementally over time. Predominant materials include cast stone, brick, high performance concrete panels, natural metal panels and shingles. Large, loft-like windows characterize many of the buildings’ facades, allowing daylight to penetrate deeply into the apartment units. Facades that face public right of ways are richly detailed with deep set windows, balconies, and articulated cornices. Ground floor retail spaces have floor to ceiling show windows, colorful awnings, and three dimensional signage to make the pedestrian experience all along the frontage picturesque and memorable. The facades along Washington Street are generally stone and brick in keeping with the civic nature of the Washington Street corridor.
The facades along Brook Road are brick and plank sized HPC panels, which creates an intimate urban residential scale typical of other residential streets in Newton. These three buildings on two blocks will bring a much needed housing type to Newton and provide over 290 apartments in a community that struggles to provide cost effective multifamily housing options other than the predominant single family model. The retail space will provide more cafes and restaurants to a neighborhood that has traditionally supported small local businesses. The richly detailed architecture and time honored urban block forms will make the entire area more attractive and add value to all of the abutting properties.