A hotel slated for demolition as part of the Riverside development in West Newton would serve as a homeless shelter for two years under preliminary plans by Mark Development.
The Wellesley developer seeks to use the vacant Hotel Indigo at 399 Grove St. hotel for a two-year period through an agreement with the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development.
Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller issued a statement supporting the use of the 200-room property as a shelter.
“We stand ready to support the Commonwealth in the obligation to affirmatively further fair housing and our status as a right to shelter state,” Fuller said, alluding to the state law that guarantees homeless families a right to emergency shelter.
Currently, 15 hotels in Massachusetts are used as homeless shelters, according to a Boston Globe report that cited DCHD data.
The 1 million-square-foot Riverside lab development, including an adjacent MBTA-owned property, was originally scheduled to begin in 2022. Mark Development requested an extension last year, citing adverse conditions facing the life science industry.