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.

Around Town

Young Entrepreneur Starts Business Selling Freeze-Dried Candy

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Kai Pope, middle, sold freeze-dried candy at a pop-up at 1st Yard Market, which is owned by Omar Omolade, left. Also pictured is Kai’s mother, Lizz. An 11-year-old Watertown boy puts a spin on candy favorites and has started selling them at pop-ups and will be at the Faire on the Square. Kai Pope started Kandy by Kai, and sells freeze-dried candy, said his mother, Lizz. The freeze drying process puffs up the candy.

Schools

Student from Watertown Takes Part in Robotics Program That Solves Problems Facing Appalachia

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Watertown’s Camndon Reed joined the robotics program at West Virginia University after completing a summer program. (Contributed Photo)

A Watertown High School graduate took part in a robotics program to use robotics to solve real-world problems in Appalachia. Camndon Reed got involved in the summer program run by West Virginia University in 2024, and he was featured in a piece in The State Journal. At the time he was attending James Madison University, but after taking part in the program he transferred to WVU. “It was a great experience.