Five Brookline residents pushed back against Nordblom Company's proposed apartment building at 26 Pleasant Street last week, publishing letters that accuse the developer of seeking a massive zoning increase it never disclosed during years of neighborhood planning.

The letters, published Aug. 21 on Brookline.News in response to an Aug. 17 article about the project, add new arguments to a growing opposition campaign ahead of a Town Meeting vote expected this fall.

Jonathan Davis wrote that Nordblom is seeking a 300% increase in zoning for the site, a figure he says was never raised during the two-year process in which a Select Board-appointed committee of 15 residents, experts, town staff and a consultant crafted zoning for the adjacent Waldo Durgin district.

"During that time Nordblom said nothing about trying to increase (let alone by 300%) the zoning for its property at 26 Pleasant," Davis wrote. "It's time to put the brakes on and consider 26 Pleasant, Waldo Durgin, and their combined effects on the neighborhood together and holistically."

The 26 Pleasant Street site sits across John Street from the Waldo Durgin district. Davis argued the proposed upzoning would undermine rules that the Select Board, Zoning Board, Planning Board and town staff all relied on when creating that zoning.

Bruce Levin raised environmental concerns, writing that the project would require cutting mature trees, including an oak over 100 years old, and would damage roots of trees at the neighboring Sussman House, a BHA housing complex for the elderly. Levin called Coolidge Corner "an undisputed heat island" and said the developer indicated at a neighborhood meeting the project would include only 14 affordable units.

Kate Gascoigne argued that housing is already coming to the block, citing a 14-story, 132-unit apartment building and an 8-10 story hotel already planned nearby. David Walsh called the proposal a "110-unit, eight-story-plus monstrosity" that would block afternoon sun from the Coolidge Corner library. Walsh's description is larger than the seven-story, 96-unit building Nordblom has proposed. Michael Massicotte, whose letter was published Aug. 18, wrote that the neighborhood "needs green space and trees or we risk becoming a concrete jungle."

Nordblom has proposed a seven-story, 96-unit apartment building on the private parking lot across from the library. Jeffrey Allen, a real estate attorney and former Select Board member representing the developer, told Brookline.News on Aug. 17 that the company is "providing 15% affordable units" and creating "a tremendous tax benefit to the town." Allen said the site is not for sale.

Nordblom's representatives could not be reached for comment on the letters.

The zoning article received "No Motion" at the spring 2026 Annual Town Meeting, meaning it was not brought to a vote at that session. A town newsletter listed it as Article 16, which would have created a Pleasant Street Multi-Family Overlay District.

The letters join a separate petition signed by 49 residents, including Town Meeting members Susan Park and Susie Roberts, that opposes the development and calls for the lot to become a park.

Town Meeting member Katherine Haenschen told Brookline.News on Aug. 17 that she and a majority of fellow members in Precinct 17 support the project and want community benefits in return for the zoning change. The fall Town Meeting session will be the next opportunity for a vote.