The Chabad Lubavitch Jewish Center, a Needham fixture at its 472 High Rock St. location for more than two decades, is methodically advancing plans to relocate and expand its operations at a new location on Central Avenue, adjacent to the Newman school.
In July 2023, the Chabad purchased the 1,500-square-foot single-family home at 1195 Central Ave. for $1.235 million after conducting a capital campaign in support of the project. It plans to demolish the existing residence and barn at the one-acre site and replace it with two structures — a Chabad religious center and a family dwelling.
The Chabad has been operating out of the 2,700-square-foot, eight-room single-family home on High Rock Street where Rabbi Mendi Krinsky and his wife, Chana, have lived while raising their eight children.
The new complex was proposed as a 25,000-square-foot, three-story center to host worship and other activities for its congregation, along with a 9,125-square-foot family dwelling. As the organization has sought to satisfy the Planning Board and other regulators, it has reduced the scale of the project to a 19,000-square-foot building and a 7,500-square-foot, 2½-story residential dwelling.
The site is located in a single-family zoning district. As a religious institution, the organization can invoke the Dover Amendment, a state law that exempts religious uses from general zoning restrictions.
The Dover law does not eliminate all regulatory hurdles, such as bulk and height of structures, lot coverage and setback requirements. It does stipulate that any local regulation cannot be “unreasonable.”
It also does not exempt the project from having to comply with state and local wetlands protections and stormwater management requirements that are proving especially thorny at this particular site.
Since the summer of 2025, the project has been before the Planning Board, the Conservation Commission and the Design Review Board at the local level and is also being reviewed by the state Department of Environmental Protection for compliance with the state Wetlands Protection Act.
Those reviews led to the reduced building sizes and eliminated the need for an easement from an abutting property at 1177 Central Ave., a recently constructed home owned by Robert and Gina Bradley. The Bradleys have significant concerns over potential negative impacts to their home.
The most recent discussion was on April 27 at a Planning Board public hearing focused heavily on stormwater management and wetland protection issues due to the high water table in the area and a preponderance of wetlands on and around the site..
Karlis Skulte, the project lead engineer from Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc., provided a lengthy description of how the wetlands and stormwater concerns would be addressed. The plans include providing infiltration ponds and water-retention chambers at multiple locations on the property.
“We’re also taking a look if we may have to raise the grade a foot or so to be able to accommodate the extra space that will be needed for those chambers,” he said.
The Bradleys are generally supportive of the project but have expressed concern that failure to manage stormwater could place their property at risk. They also engaged an engineering firm to evaluate the site and shared those findings with the Conservation Commission and the Planning Board.
A letter to the ConCom from the Bradleys’ attorney asserted that the plan submitted “for Site Plan Approval, as presently filed, fails to provide the reasonable assurance required by law. At a minimum, the application requires substantial revision and resubmission before the Commission can properly evaluate compliance with governing standards.”
Skulte also discussed the wetlands/stormwater concerns at the April 23 Conservation Commission meeting and is expected to return at a future meeting.
“To the extent that the Conservation Commission feels that wetlands resources are being imperiled or impaired by stormwater, we have some authority in that regard,” said ConCom Chair Dave Herer.
Herer said the commission can issue an “order of conditions” that would need to be met by the conclusion of the project. At that time, the owners would need to apply for a “certificate of completion” that would be recorded on the deed for the property.
“From an engineering point of view, they have a challenge to come up with a system that meets the regulations,” Herer added.
Planning Board members also expressed concerns that the site provides only eight parking spaces and that the dropoff area in front presented safety concerns.
The proponents noted they have an informal agreement with the school department that gives them access to more than 80 parking spots at the Newman School when the center is hosting events that would exhaust the eight on-site parking spots.
During the public comment segment near the end of the hearing, the project received support from three residents who noted the many contributions the Chabad makes to the community through its community service offerings and other programs.
And Gina Bradley emphasized that, despite her and her husband’s concerns, they are supportive of the project in general.
“We’ve had great conversations over the last 18 months with the rabbi and his wife,” she said.
“I don’t want this board to think that the letters and all are meant to prevent this project. We’re just asking for some reasonable restrictions.”
The Planning Board kept the hearing open and it is scheduled to resume at the board’s June 2 meeting.
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