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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.

Developer in Talks for Shelter at Former Newton Hotel

by Steve Adams time to read: 1 min
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