"The 400-plus commuters who use the Newtonville station daily and the restaurants and shop owners who benefit from the foot traffic are all breathing a sigh of relief." Greg Reibman, president and CEO of the Charles River Regional Chamber, said that to Fig City News on September 18, the day after the MBTA changed its construction plan for the station. He tied commuters and storefronts together in one sentence, and that link runs through nearly everything happening in Newtonville this fall.
Three things are changing at once in the space of a few blocks. The station is about to start a renovation that runs into 2029. A new public plaza beside Austin Street now carries a former mayor's name. Walnut Street keeps gaining and losing places to eat. Taken together, they explain why the village spent its autumn on foot traffic: keeping it, gathering it and steering it.
The station stays open, through a different door
The MBTA first planned to close the Newtonville Commuter Rail station for the whole renovation, starting this fall and running into spring 2029. After feedback from riders, residents, businesses and elected officials, the agency now plans to keep it open for all but five of the roughly 28 months of construction. Mayor Marc Laredo heard about the revised plan on a call with MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng. "You spoke, we listened, and together we worked to create the best possible outcome for Newtonville," he said.
For daily routines, the biggest change is the entrance. Riders will use the Harvard Street entrance and a modified section of the existing low-level platform. The Walnut Street entrance stays closed for the whole project.
Here is the schedule, based on the MBTA's project page and Fig City News reporting:
- November 2026: Early work starts with site preparation, utility relocation and retaining walls.
- 2027: Crews build platform foundations and track and begin raising the platforms, including electrical work. The station fully closes for about three months starting in early summer.
- 2028 through spring 2029: Platform work continues with elevators, finishes, roofing and final mechanical and electrical systems. A second full closure of about two months falls in spring 2029.
- June 2029: Projected completion.
During the full closures, the MBTA points riders to bus Route 59, which connects to the Green Line D Branch at Newton Highlands. The agency says that trip takes about 20 to 30 minutes longer than the train. The project page now says extra Route 59 service will run during construction to better match the Commuter Rail schedule, and that no shuttle bus is planned. Fig City News reported on September 18 that no bus expansion had been announced, so the bus details are still being finalized.
Why Newtonville went first
Newton has three Commuter Rail stops on the Framingham/Worcester Line, and Newtonville is the first to be rebuilt. Auburndale and West Newton are set to get similar upgrades once more funding comes through. The ridership numbers explain the order. In autumn 2024, an average of 421 riders boarded at Newtonville each day, against 227 at West Newton, according to an analysis of MBTA ridership data cited by Fig City News. The station was also picked for having the most immediate potential for transit-oriented development.
The same numbers show how lopsided the station is today. Of those 421 daily boardings, 330 happen in the morning and 91 in the afternoon and evening. Right now the platforms only handle inbound trains in the morning and outbound trains later in the day. The finished station will move the platforms so trains can stop in both directions at all hours. It will also add two elevators, two fully accessible high-level platforms, canopies, benches, bike racks, better lighting and dedicated pick-up and drop-off areas. The estimated cost is now $66 million, up from an original $50 million.
So the payoff in 2029 is a station people can use all day, in either direction. Between now and then, the open question is how much of the daily commuter traffic, and the coffee and lunch business that comes with it, the village keeps while crews work.
Bram Way, built to close for a festival
The other big change this fall is three weeks old. On Sunday, September 20, the city dedicated Setti D. Warren Plaza on Bram Way, beside the Austin Street development between Starbucks and Caffè Nero. Warren, the former mayor, is honored with a plaque to be mounted on the 28 Austin Apartments building. Mayor Laredo, former Secretary of State John Kerry and members of the Warren family attended the ceremony.
His son, John Warren, said his father "would've loved it."
The plaza was designed for exactly this kind of day. The city's Austin Street project brief describes Bram Way as a shared street and plaza with public seating that can be closed off for Village Day and other events. It describes the wider development as adding housing and retail while keeping public parking. The dedication happened in the middle of the Newtonville Area Council's annual Village Day, which ran from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with craft and vendor booths, food from area restaurants, two stages of local and student musicians and a cake-cutting by Mayor Laredo. According to Fig City News, the crowd at the plaza came over from the festival and then went back to it.
The timing matters for the next few years. As the station's Walnut Street entrance closes, the village gets a named public space a short walk away that the city built to hold crowds. The dedication coverage ties the plaza and the Austin Street housing to Warren's time in office and describes its purpose as bringing people together.
Walnut Street's lunch lineup, in 2026 order
Reibman's foot-traffic point is easier to see in the year's restaurant changes. Newtonville's dining lineup has turned over steadily in 2026:
- January 9: Amarin of Thailand opened at 313 Walnut Street after moving from Wellesley, in the space LeDu Thai Eatery used to occupy.
- May 28: Clover Food Lab served its last meals at 835 Washington Street as the chain shut down.
- Early October: Mochiko Hawaiian BBQ, a Walnut Street lunch spot since 2022, closed its Newtonville location, as reported by Boston Restaurant Talk on October 2 and the Newton Beacon on October 8. "We are focusing on Brighton only now," co-owner Sang Phan told the Beacon.
Neither report gives an exact last day for Mochiko in Newton. Clover's closing was part of a chainwide shutdown, and Mochiko's owners are concentrating on their Brighton location, so these exits came from decisions made beyond the village. Amarin's move shows the opposite pull: a restaurant chose 313 Walnut Street over its old home in Wellesley.
The next street on the table
Next up for public discussion is Washington Street. In his late-August newsletter, Mayor Laredo said the city is considering changes to the current street design on Washington Street from Chestnut Street to Lowell Avenue, based on community feedback. The Newtonville Area Council has posted these dates:
- Wednesday, October 14, 7 p.m.: Hybrid Area Council meeting.
- Saturday, October 24, 3 to 4 p.m.: Listening hour at Caffè Nero, 28 Austin Street, right beside the new plaza.
- Wednesday, October 28, 6 to 7 p.m.: Meeting on Washington Street at the Cooper Center, 345 Walnut Street.
- Thursday, October 29: A second Washington Street session at the Cooper Center, listed on the council's calendar.
- November 4 and December 9: The remaining 2026 Area Council meetings.
The city is also collecting comments by email at [email protected]. All of these sessions land in the weeks just before the MBTA's November start, so the Washington Street discussion will happen as the station work begins.
Questions about how the station timeline, the new plaza or the Washington Street review could affect a home near Walnut Street are a natural place to start a conversation with Judy Korzenowski. Judy follows these village changes closely and can put them in context for your home. Request your complimentary consultation & market valuation.
