On December 15, Mayor Fuller announced that the City of Newton chose Metro West and Civico to develop a 43-unit, inter-generational family affordable housing complex. This team was selected after careful review of the seven proposals from competing developers.

Green Newton’s Building Standards Committee reviewed those proposals for how well they met our building sustainability criteria. We identified the Metro West / Civico proposal as one of two in the top-tier. We sent our analysis to the City’s Armory Evaluation Committee.

The building’s heating, hot water and cooking will be all-electric. It will be built to Passive House standards, meaning that it will be extremely energy efficient. In addition, the rooftop solar panels will produce a large part of the residents’ electricity on-site.

The Armory will set a visible and public example of a modern, sustainable and transit-oriented development. Green Newton is very pleased with the selection process and the final decision.

Betsy Harper is a member of the Green Newton Building Standards Committee and the owner of Birchwood Sustainable Development.