A seven-story parking garage concept studied for Coolidge Corner's Centre Street Lot would drive customers to suburban competitors rather than support local shops, a letter published Monday, July 13, on Brookline.News argues.

The letter, attributed to Jonathan Davis in the publication's social metadata, contends that Coolidge Corner businesses already compete with Brighton and suburban plazas where shoppers park at ground level steps from their destination. A multi-story structure would force customers to navigate tight ramps, hunt for spots across multiple floors, then walk or ride an elevator down before reaching the shops.

"Goodbye Coolidge Corner as a destination for the very very many customers who have options," Davis wrote, singling out moviegoers at the Coolidge Corner Theatre as particularly affected by the distance and raising nighttime safety concerns about walking through a large garage.

The letter arrives as the Select Board moves to restart the stalled project. At a June 2026 meeting, Kara Brewton, the town's director of planning and community development, suggested returning to the Centre Street Lot redevelopment this summer to "finish the discussion." No specific meeting date or public comment period has been announced. The previous Select Board never issued a Request for Information to developers, despite a recommendation from the committee studying the site.

The redevelopment concept envisions transforming the roughly 200-space municipal lot into a walkable plaza with a parking garage and housing. The lots, built in the 1960s, are non-compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and cannot be reconstructed in their current form, according to a September 2025 town newsletter. The town spent $225,000 in ARPA funds to hire Brookline-based Speck Dempsey as lead consultant on an exploratory study.

Financial pressure is driving the push. Deputy town administrator Melissa Goff reported at the June meeting that the town faces a projected $25 million to $28 million structural budget gap once override funds expire in 2029. Select Board member Amanda Zimmerman said at the same meeting that "even in a worst case scenario, new apartments are still a net positive to the town."

The parking debate isn't new for Brookline's business community. The Charles River Regional Chamber of Commerce raised similar concerns in August 2025 after the Select Board unanimously raised most parking fines from $25 to $45, warning that penalized customers might choose a mall over local shops.

Town Administrator Chas Carey signaled the board's posture on development timelines at the June meeting: "At a certain point, the board has to say we are satisfied with the process...and we are sorry if you were not."

Brewton indicated the Select Board would revisit the Centre Street Lot project this summer, but no agenda item or public hearing has been scheduled.