The start of construction of a major new project on Main Street, Elysian Watertown Square, was celebrated by the developers and City officials at a ceremony held recently.
On Nov. 19, O’Connor Group held a ribbon cutting on the property that will become a mixed-use building with 142 rental units, five owner-occupied townhouses, and retail space on land that stretches from Main Street to Pleasant Street.
John O’Connor, Head of Acquisitions for O’Connor Group, said the new project will help make Watertown Square a more lively place.
“We have been working very closely with the community, the elected officials, the town planners, and they have been very receptive to all the items we have brought here,” he said. “We are big believers in walkable communities and in our view the town square is pretty underserved right now and this project will go a long way to solving that.”
City Manager George Proakis said one of the biggest topics of discussion since he has been in town is how to make the Square more vibrant. He said projects such as Elysian will help make that happen.
“It’s been proven again and again that housing, walkable housing within close proximity to our retail stores seems to be the secret sauce — I think it is not so secret anymore — but really make the opportunity to make it possible for people to have more vibrant businesses and a more vibrant square,” Proakis said.
Creating housing in downtown areas is one of the biggest challenges for economic development in the region, he added.
“Having a chance to add housing, add a building that will complement the Square, and having something that we will be able to continue to build on as we look at additional opportunities and some of the challenges in the Square with the new zoning and everything we have put together,” Proakis said. “I am just glad that the team from O’Connor is here first and is able to set a high standard for us as we keep moving forward.”
The ceremony took place on the Pleasant Street side of the project, where the main vehicle entrance will be located. City Council President Mark Sideris thanked O’Connor for making the project a reality and he looks forward to coming back for the grand opening when he can take a look at the completed project.
“Thank you for all your effort in putting this all together,” Sideris said. “I know it has been a long hard road and we are glad that you stuck with it, and this is going to be a really exciting project right here in Watertown Square which is going to meet the needs of a lot of different people and a lot of different things we can offer here in this project.”
The project was known as 104-106 Main Street as it went through the City’s planning process. The Zoning Board of Appeals gave final approval in October 2023. The first meetings with the former property owners, the Satusti family, started before the Pandemic, O’Connor said, and the planning really began about 2.5 years ago.
Fifteen percent of the residences at Elysian will be available at below market rates, aimed at households making 65-80 percent of Area Median Income. The building will be Passive House certified, and will be an all-electric building with rooftop solar panels. There will be two levels of parking with EV charging stations, bike storage, and a transportation management plan to promote alternative options.
Along one side of the building will be a walkway connecting Main and Pleasant street, which will be open to the public, said Brett Buehrer, O’Connor’s Senior Vice President for Development.
“We are really excited that we have this great art walk that is going to connect Main Street and Pleasant Street and the Charles River Walk and that was something that was really important to the community,” Buehrer said. “We worked a lot in the planning process to design a space that would be inviting and also create a very visible corner on Main Street where we could eventually put a restaurant type location on Main Street.”
O’Connor said he hopes that one of the former tenants of one of the commercial buildings that Elysian is replacing will return: the Post Office.
“We are working with them right now. We’d like to have them back. I think they’d like to come back, so we are working on that now,” O’Connor said. “We are now in active dialogue with them and they are very engaged and hopefully will be back in the project.”