On Oct. 30, 2009, BH Normandy Riverside LLC and the MBTA executed a lease for 22 acres at the Riverside T Station on Grove Street in Auburndale.

1,500,000 square feet of new development. One-and-a-half million. That’s a lot of feet.

2,645 parking spaces. That’s a lot of cars.

290 housing units, part of 874,000 square feet of offices, housing and retail. That’s a lot of people.

11 new buildings — 13 stories, 9 stories, 8.5 stories, 7 stories, 6 stories, 6 stories, 6 stories, 5 stories, 4 stories, 2 stories, 1 story. That’s a lot.

“That” is from a proposal by BH Normandy Riverside, LLC, dated Feb. 1. Also in that proposal were two new rotaries and four lanes of traffic on Grove Street, one of the few Scenic Roadways officially designated by the city of Newton. They — BH Normandy Riverside LLC — didn’t mention how the schools might absorb children from this new housing.

Fortunately, this is only a preliminary proposal. There are a lot of steps yet left to take before anyone is climbing those 13 stories to look out over the Charles River and all the western suburbs of Boston.

This project as a whole actually has had a fairly positive beginning, and there’s an excellent chance to build on that. The developer has met with community groups a number of times, and will be presenting its latest vision on March 31 at Williams School (7 p.m., 141 Grove St.). The community, the city, the state and the developer all need to continue working together to determine whether a first-class development, which could be a valuable asset to Newton and the entire region, can be built on the Riverside site.

Our Ward 4 aldermen, Amy Sangiolo, Jay Harney and Lenny Gentile, and other city officials have already been working hard to keep the local community involved. They arranged for meetings with the MBTA officials when the T was first preparing its Invitation to Bid on the property; and then with the developer after the lease had been awarded. And they continue to keep community leaders involved in the process.

The Auburndale Community Association, the Lasell Neighborhood Association and the Lower Falls Improvement Association, the local neighborhood groups, have each consulted their membership and prepared position papers on the project, which the MBTA in turn provided to all bidding on the property. The residents’ top concerns, as spelled out clearly in all three of the position papers — traffic volume and pedestrian safety; impact on already-crowded schools; and size and density of the development — have not yet been adequately addressed. But there is still time to address these concerns, a requirement if there is to be a successful development of the site.

The Planning Department is busy, working on its next step — creating a new Zoning District, which some have referred to as Business District 6. Candace Havens, Newton’s interim planning director, recently held a neighborhood meeting to begin discussing the basic elements of a new Zoning District. This was a great first step. But new zoning will affect the entire city and is a complicated undertaking, as we have seen with the PMBD.

The state is involved as well, unfortunately, as more of an obstacle than an aid at the moment. All three of the community groups now involved, numerous residents, and likely a number of city officials, have proposed working out a plan for direct access to and from the site via 128/Frontage Road, aka Exit 23-24-25. According to the state Department of Transportation, that’s part of the highway and apparently not an option at this point.

To stay on top of this whole process, the Riverside Station Neighborhood Coalition was formed by the three community groups in the immediate area, the ACA, LNA and LFIA. Our purpose is to be an efficient avenue for all residents of the city of Newton to be informed, educated and involved with any development at Riverside, and in turn help to voice the concerns of the community and work with the city, state and BH Normandy. Basic information and a link to join our electronic mailing list can be found at http://www.riversidestation.info. As this process moves along, we will continually update the website to help you all stay informed. The RSNC welcomes volunteers to help with our efforts, and most importantly, we want to hear your opinions on this development project!

This is a major development for Newton, and for the region. We will only get one chance to be sure that this development is done right. Our Ward 4 aldermen have arranged for BH Normandy to present their latest vision for the Riverside Development to the people of Newton on Wednesday, March 31, at 7 p.m. in the Williams School Auditorium, 141 Grove St. Come to Williams School! Step up, inform yourselves, and help shape Newton’s future!