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Fans of the New England Mobile Book Fair will happy to learn that they won’t have to travel too far to visit the beloved independent bookstore in its new space.

Owner Tom Lyons, who’d warned customers a few months ago he needed to downsize or close, has found a new space not far from the 32,000-square-foot warehouse space on Needham Street in Newton Highlands that has been home for 50 years.

Lyons says the New England Mobile Book Fair is moving just a few blocks away — to the Marshalls Plaza on Needham Street. He’s hoping to be open in the new space, which will be less than a quarter of the size of the old space, by mid-June.

“We had been contacted by a number of cities and locations nearby, but ultimately we felt that we wanted to try to stay local, so when the Northland Investment Corp. contacted us it felt like the right fit,” Lyons said, referring to the Newton-based real estate development firm. “Even though it’s not a permanent solution, it helps keep this bookstore close to its roots. Northland clearly understands the need for unique local businesses that support the community.”

The new space is indeed temporary. It’s only available for about two years because the parcel is part of a 30-acre property that’s being eyed by the city of Newton for a development that would include housing, retail, and office space.

Said Peter Standish, a Northland vice president: “We are pleased to be able to facilitate New England Mobile Fook Fair’s ongoing service and commitment to the people of Newton. This use fits squarely with the vision for our proposed mixed-use development, and we hope to find the Bookstore a permanent home here.”

Like a lot of other independent bookstores, the New England Mobile Book Fair has struggled in recent years as online retailers have captured much of the market.

Full article available here:  https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/names/2017/05/17/new-england-mobile-book-fair-gets-temporary-home/p7Dh6RPtZHIE0GMjGUaizN/story.html

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•  Twenty-eight members of the Southwest Florida team volunteered at The Harry Chapin Food Bank where they processed 18,560 pounds of produce, equivalent to 15,467 meals, for neighbors in need in Charlotte, Collier, Hendry, Glades, and Lee counties.
• A group in Austin worked at the Central Texas Food Bank where they helped keep mobile food pantry lines running smoothly. The food bank works with 250 partner agencies and helps with hunger relief in 21 counties across Central Texas. The volunteer time from the Northland team helped provide 7,791 meals.
• Employees from Northland’s Tucson communities contributed their volunteer time to Habitat for Humanity. They worked on laying brick, planting trees, and other projects to get a home built for a deserving family in the Tucson area.
• A group of 25 from the Newton, MA corporate office spent an afternoon at The Greater Boston Food Bank sorting and processing food to help the 1 in 9 people who go hungry each day in Massachusetts.
• Austin team members volunteered at the Austin Animal Shelter, which runs the largest no-kill animal shelter in the United States, providing shelter to more than 18,000 animals each year.
• Corpus Christi employees spent their time at the Corpus Christi Food Bank which feeds over 78,900 people in the Coastal Bend each year. The FBCC services an 11 country area of South Texas and works with 150 agencies and pantries.

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The Merc at Moody & Main has an urban feel thanks to its location in downtown Waltham, but rents are about 25 percent less than new buildings in Boston and Cambridge.

“We get a lot of people who started looking in the city for apartments, but find that rents out here are lower,” said Stephanie Cabral, the Merc’s community manager. “Rents at The Merc run around $300 cheaper than comparable new buildings in Cambridge and $500 in Boston.”

Cabral says many residents relocated here from out of state and work in tech and biotech firms along nearby Route 128. She says most are young professionals, but there are also some empty nesters. The 269-unit, three building, five-story apartment complex — named after the former Mercantile building on the 41?2-acre block — recently finished its third phase, which includes a ground floor filled with common amenity spaces.

There’s a wood-floored resident lounge with seating and a gas fireplace, a billiards room and a clubroom with a catering kitchen featuring a large quartz center island and stainless steel appliances. Adjacent sits a resident library and business conference center. There’s also a large fitness facility/yoga studio that overlooks Waltham Common across the street. A dog washing station has a large shower stall.

By the spring, a fifth-story skydeck with Boston views will have an outdoor fireplace and grill areas.

Rents include one free parking space in the complex’s 300-car underground garage. Second garage spaces are $175 a month. Pet rent runs $50 a month per dog or cat.

The Merc is 63 percent leased, and the complex is offering a month’s free rent on 12-month leases signed by Jan. 1.

We toured staged model unit 220, a 750-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bath renting for $2,495. The apartment has an open kitchen/dining/living area with 9-foot ceilings. The kitchen has dark vinyl plank flooring, 15 white and brown wood cabinets and quartz countertops with a mosaic tile backsplash. There’s a moveable quartz island and Whirlpool stainless steel appliances, including a refrigerator, dishwasher and electric stove.

The carpeted dining/living area has a wall of windows with a bumpout that allows views down Waltham’s Main Street.

The carpeted bedroom has a large walk-in closet with shelving — and the ceramic tile-floored bathroom has a large vanity and a white-tiled tub and shower. In one corner of the bathroom sits a full-size stacked Whirlpool washer and dryer.

“This is a true transit-oriented development with the commuter rail to Boston and buses to Cambridge right here,” says Peter Standish, senior vice president at Newton’s Northland Investment Corp., the Merc’s developer and owner. “We figured we’d get tenants looking for a more urban experience that downtown Waltham offers, including all the restaurants along Moody Street.”

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