City of Newton, MA
Home MenuNathaniel Allen House
35 Webster Street
West Newton, MA 02465
Goals
Rehabilitate the pre-Civil War home of renowned educator Nathaniel Topliff Allen, later used as a school run by his daughters, for use as a cultural center, with teaching, rehearsal, performance and office spaces for arts organizations; public indoor and outdoor spaces; and a rotating exhibit on the history of this Newton Historic Landmark.
Funding
Updated to reflect 2018 supplemental proposal & funding recommendation below.
| $300,000 | Phase 1, CPA funds appropriated & spent (historic resources) |
| $2,000,000 | Phase 2, CPA funds appropriated & partially spent (historic resources) The phased release of these CPA funds required reaching specified targets for commitment of non-CPA funds at each phase. All targets had been reached as of April 2018. |
| $600,000 | Phase 3, supplemental CPA funding appropriated |
| $1,380,000 | Capital campaign (partly raised) |
| $1,050,000 | Bank line of credit |
| $570,000 | Massachusetts Cultural Council grants |
| $1,100,000 | Massachusetts historic tax credits (basis) |
| $500,000 | Federal historic tax credits (basis) |
| $7,500,000 | Total Project Cost |
Contact
Adrienne Hartzell, Managing Director
Newton Cultural Alliance (NCA)
35 Webster Street
West Newton, MA 02465
adrienne@newtonculture.org or adrienne@newphil.org
617-332-4300
857-636-0199
Laurel Farnsworth, NCA Board Member
73 Perkins Street
West Newton, MA 02465
laurel@downeyfarnsworth.com
617-244-2209
617-429-7297
Funding Process
2013
- 25 March 2013 - Pre-proposal, including draft historic resources attachments
- 15 November 2013 - Full proposal, including the following sections posted separately:
- Cover letter, project summary & finances (project and organizational budgets)
- Site photos & maps
- Project management team qualifications, letters of support
- Historic significance, features & treatment plan
- Current conditions - photos (keyed to historic treatment plan above) (This large file may load slowly for on-screen reading; may be faster to download and read offline.)
- Deed, appraisal, 1980 preservation restriction
- Construction scope of work & costs
- City of Newton reviews: zoning & permitting, Newton Historical Commission project plans
- Project Plans
Very large files; may be faster to download for reading offline. Many of these plans are sized for 24x36 inch paper. For onscreen reading, set display to 100% or larger. See also plan updates submitted & approved by Newton Historical Commission in March 2019 below.
2014
- 9 January 2014 - Public presentation, including (photos, selected plans from those above, budget overview)
- 18 February 2014 - Updated project budgets
- 19 June 2014 - Revised project plan & updated project budgets
- 29 July 2014 - Partial occupancy proposal (phase 1 of the full project), including: scope of work, development budget, non-CPA funding to date, one-year operating budget, anticipated funding sources, uses & phasing for full project
- 2 September 2014 - Update on NCA acquisition of abutting property at 406 Cherry Street, West Newton
- 2 September 2014 - CPC funding recommendation, including: summary of sources & uses for all non-CPA funding to date; anticipated funding sources; uses & phasing for full project
- Summaries in support of funding recommendation:
- All written public comments received to date, including letters of support submitted with November 2013 proposal above
- April 2013-August 2014 CPC minutes for Allen House, including: pre-proposal discussion, public hearing & working sessions, funding vote
- 6 October 2014 - Board of Aldermen appropriation order ($300,000)
2015-16
- 11 June 2015 - Update on NCA plans for next phase of CPA funding
- 11 February 2016 - for additional rehabilitation (Phase 2):
- Full proposal, with project summary, project budgets, changes to plans since 2013 submission, project team qualifications, project sponsor financials, etc.
- Photos & maps
- Plans, condensed (Large file; may be faster to download and read offline)
- Plans, full size (Extremely large file; should be downloaded for reading offline). Plans are sized for 24x36 inch paper; for onscreen reading, set display to 100% or larger.
- See also plan updates submitted & approved by Newton Historical Commission in March 2019, below.
- 8-10 March 2016 - Public hearing presentation and League of Women Voters comments on proposal
- 4 April 2016 - CPC funding recommendation
- 19 April 2016 - City Council appropriation order ($2,000,000)
2018-19
Photo by Peter Vanderwarker |
- 30 October 2018 - Pre-proposal (Phase 3) requesting consideration of a supplemental request for $600,000
- 20 November-11 December 2018 - Supplemental full proposal (Phase 3)
- Supplemental proposal & attachments, including project summary, project budgets, non-CPA funding sources, project team qualifications, and project sponsor financials
- Excerpted plans, highlighting changes since 2016 plans (larger scale); see also plan updates submitted & approved by Newton Historical Commission in March 2019 below
- Presentation to CPC public hearing (11 December 2018)
- 11 December 2018 - League of Women Voters comments (on phase 3 proposal)
- 22 December 2018 - CPC funding recommendation (phase 3)
- 22 January 2019 - City Council appropriation order (phase 3) ($600,000)
- 14 April 2020 - Final Report Presentation to CPC, including Final Report Narrative and Finances
- July 2020 - Final Final Report approved at the August 11 Meeting. Review materials include the Cover Letter, Narrative, Finalized Budget information, and Presentation.
Project Background & News
1970s - 1990s
- July 1977 - successful nomination of this property to the National Register of Historic Places
- January 1978 - Massachusetts Historical Commission Historic Property Survey of this property
- 1997-98 - This property was declared a City of Newton Landmark on 5 March 1998.
- For the 1997 study leading to this decision, scroll down to "35 Webster Street" on our Newton City Landmarks page
2015 - Partial Occupancy (Phase 1)
- 26 January 2015 - Allen House partial occupancy (phase 1) grant agreement
- 9-11 June 2015 - Final phase 1 report to the CPC
2016 - Additional Rehabilitation (Phases 2-3)
- 5 August 2016, amended 13 December 2016 and 20 March 2018 - Allen House additional rehabilitation (phase 2) grant agreement; see third amendment treated as phase 3, below
- 5 April 2018 - Updated & expanded historic preservation restriction, recorded at the South Middlesex Registry of Deeds, book 70833, page 348:
- March 2019 - Plan updates submitted to and approved by Newton Historical Commission
- 29 July 2019 - Allen House additional rehabilitation (phase 3) grant agreement; executed as a third amendment to phase 2 grant agreement above
- 10 September 2019 - Interim progress report to CPC