Schools

Back to School: One School Welcomed a Large Kindergarten, Middle School Renovations Shift, Draft Cellphone Policy

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Cunniff Elementary School has a particularly large number of kindergartners this fall. (Photo by Watertown Public Schools)

Students in Watertown returned to class this month, including a large number of kindergartners on one campus. Back to School nights will be held this week, and the School Committee also heard about a proposal that would prevent students from using cellphones and other devices anytime during the school day. At Monday’s School Committee meeting, Superintendent Dede Galdston thanked the Watertown Schools’ faculty and staff for preparing the schools to welcome students to the 2025-26 School Year. The first day of class was Sept.

Around Town

Council Sees Plans for 2 Parks; Asks About Crosswalks Near Bemis Park, Facilities at How Park

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Drawings for the improvements at Bemis Park. Two parks on the westside of Watertown will be renovated in the near future, and City Councilors had questions about the features of the park, as well as the pedestrian crossings for one of the parks. Conceptual drawings of Bemis Park on Waltham Street, and How Park on Pleasant Street were presented by CBA Landscape Architects at the Sept. 8 Council meeting. The designs for Bemis Park, which features a little league baseball field, include a new playground, a splash pad, a porta-potty enclosure, and field improvements.

Around Town

Watertown Woman Appearing at Author Event, Walk in Memory of Her Significant Other

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Debra Smith will be speaking about her first book at an event in Harvard Square on Sept. 28. Watertown’s Debra Smith will be participating in a pair of events in memory of John R. Hope as part of Suicide Prevention month. Smith worked closely with Hope, and was his significant other for 10 years. “John was a caring, bright and kind elder law and estate planning attorney in Watertown, who donated his time to our community speaking at the senior centers, helping me at library events that I organized and was on the board of the Marshall Home Fund,” said Smith said.

Development

City Looking at How to Create Public-Private Partnership to Redevelop Watertown Square Parking Lots

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An illustration from the Watertown Square Area Plan with the municipal parking lot behind CVS outlined in red. The City Council is considering redeveloping that area. City Councilors will be wearing a second hat when it comes to the redevelopment of the parking lots behind CVS, the Watertown Library and perhaps others in Watertown Square. On Sept. 2, consultants from Innes Land Strategies Group spoke to the Council about their role as a Redevelopment Authority, and some of the options for making the projects a reality.

Schools

Full Middle School Renovation is Off the Table, City Could Turn Focus to a New Senior Center

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Watertown Middle School (Courtesy of Watertown Public Schools)

Watertown cannot afford to totally renovate or rebuild Watertown Middle School, City Manager George Proakis told the City Council this week. At the Sept. 9 Council meeting, Proakis outlined the results of the feasibility study of renovating/rebuilding the middle school. The City budgeted $84.7 million for the middle school project, but the cost estimates for a project that would create a modern school that could accommodate 630 students came in well over $100 million. “I wanted to come here and share with you tonight that after spending a significant time and looking at this from every imaginable perspective, building a $112 million Middle School is not something I feel comfortable recommending that the Council do,” Proakis said.

Development

Two Multistory Residential Projects Proposed in New Watertown Square Zoning

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An illustration of the proposed residential building at 108 Water St. (WSQ Development LLC)

Two residential projects have been proposed in Watertown, south of the Charles River and another in a vacant site on Mt. Auburn Street. The projects are among the first that would be built the new Watertown Square Zoning districts created so the City would comply with the MBTA Communities Law. The first project in the new zones was a five-unit residential building at 75 Spring St., which is located in the WSQ1 zoning, which allows 3+ story (four stories with a stepped back fourth story) projects.