Multi-Family Housing on Great Plain Receives Zoning Approval

May 13, 2026
• Development plans at the former site of Hillcrest Gardens will move forward, as zoning amendments at the property received Town Meeting approval Monday night.

Despite concerns over how zoning changes were brought forward via citizens’ petitions, Town Meeting passed all three articles enabling prospective mixed-use development at 888 Great Plain Ave. A motion to refer the matter back to the Planning Board failed.

The property, situated across from Greene’s Field, once operated as Hillcrest Gardens, a commercial nursery. After a zoning bylaw change, designating the site as part of the Single Residence B district, the business “became grandfathered non-conforming,” attorney George Giunta said, before closing in 2020.

Developer Jay Derenzo, of J. Derenzo Properties, seeks to build 26 units of housing with retail spaces. Those plans will still require a public hearing process through the Planning Board, as Town Meeting just voted on zoning to enable that proposed use.

Some Town Meeting members expressed hesitance with the citizens’ petition approach. Typically, the Planning Board sponsors zoning articles, but Derenzo decided to pursue the rezoning outside that process, Giunta, his attorney, said. Derenzo has owned the property for about five years.

“With the passage of time and with the property not having been included in the MBTA Communities Act, Mr. Derenzo opted to proceed with a citizens’ petition,” Giunta said, “because he felt strongly about the use of the property, and also was at a point where he needs to decide what to do with the property.”

The rezoning converted the parcel’s SRB designation to a Center Business district one and amended part of the zoning bylaw to allow the Planning Board, by special permit, to reduce setbacks at the side and rear adjoining a residential district.

From Planning Board member Adam Block’s view, “good zoning is good zoning.” The board voted to support the three articles.

Town Meeting member Moe Handel, however, considered it “piecemeal zoning” and said he felt the articles should have come from the Planning Board. “This is not how we should be making revisions,” he said.

In her remarks, member Holly Clarke expressed opposition, warning that it could set “a really bad precedent.”

“We are not a planning board and we are not a zoning board of appeals,” Clarke said. “That expertise should have come through the normal process, respectfully… I think the Planning Board should have handled it.”

A motion to refer the articles back to the Planning Board, made by member Susan Welby, did not pass on a voice vote. If the articles hadn’t passed or were referred back, Giunta said Derenzo would have to give “some serious thought” to whether he would keep the property.

Before Town Meeting, the Select Board voted to support the zoning changes, though several members voiced discomfort with the citizens’ petition approach. Vice Chair Josh Levy voted against supporting the articles during that discussion, taking issue with “the piecemeal nature of zoning,” echoed by Handel’s comments Monday night.

The zoning did receive support from other members, including Amanda Berman, who stressed the town’s need for multi-family housing. Discussion of surrounding parcels along Great Plain Avenue should take place, she said, but “not to the detriment of a great project.”

Town Meeting member Louis Wolfson, who is also a realtor and developer, sees the project as an opportunity for more retail downtown. Member Jonathan Traub called the project “a win-win-win.”

While discussion at times veered into the project’s current design plans, Guinta reassured attendees that specifics are subject to change, including how and where vehicles parked in the proposed 43 underground spots may exit.

Through it all, Derenzo sat in the balcony of Powers Hall, and after the articles’ successful passage, celebrated outside. Derenzo, who lived in Needham for more than 30 years, said he is “ecstatic” about the articles’ passage, noting downtown expansion is a goal of his.

In his time living and working in Needham, “nothing new has ever come downtown,” he said in an interview afterward. Mixed-use “is the right fit for this place,” he added, noting he received positive feedback from Town Meeting members prior to Monday’s vote.

“I think it’s going to be a great asset for the town,” Derenzo said. “This is something I’m building as a legacy for my family.”

Besides the rezoning, members passed all 12 articles on its Special Town Meeting warrant, including the $8.2 million for construction of Quiet Zone safety upgrades in the town’s pursuit to silence train horns at its at-grade crossings. The funding, from borrowing, only applies to five of the town’s six crossings, as the one at the Needham Golf Club is privately owned.

Town Meeting unanimously approved the new town seal, which prompted limited discussion, and voted 114-78 that the town exclusively financially support a four-lane plan tied to the Envision Needham Center redevelopment, though that article was non-binding.

Members struck down another citizens’ petition that proposed requiring the town manager to notify Select Board members of contract funding above $500,000, which would have lowered the current $1 million threshold.