Development

See the Proposed Plans for the New Arsenal Mall Before the Meeting on Aug. 17

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Plans for the proposed new Arsenal Mall have been submitted to the Watertown Planning Department, and includes a 12-story residential building among the additions to the site.  

Developers have scheduled two community meeting to discuss the proposal before it goes before the Planning Board. The meetings will be held in the Innovation Space inside the mall on Wednesday, Aug. 17 and Wednesday, Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. each night.

Development

Arsenal Project Holding 2 Community Meetings to Discuss Plans for Mall

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The first step of approval of the big renovation of the Arsenal Mall has begun with developers filing the plans with the town. The community will get to see the plans during two community meetings. The materials submitted have been uploaded on the Town website, which will be updated regularly as new information is submitted, according to the developers, Boylston Properties. The filing can be found here: http://www.watertown-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/Index/984

“The purpose of this filing is to continue the conversation with various Department heads within the Town, to get feedback from Town officials, and make sure we are heading in the right direction,” developers wrote in their announcement. The two Community Meetings will be held Aug.

Arsenal on the Charles

Master Plan for Renovating the Arsenal on the Charles Approved

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A plan put forward by the owners of the Arsenal on the Charles complex to add several buildings and increase the number of employees was approved by the Planning Board Monday night. 

The board unanimously supported the plan, but before any building can be built, the owners – athenahealth – must come back for approval of that each of the plan. Additions include several office buildings, new retail space, a restaurant, more open space including a pocket park and a new glass roof over the spaces between the long “finger buildings” east of the Arsenal Center for the Arts building. (Read more about the plan here). The company purchased the complex, between Arsenal and North Beacon streets, from Harvard University in 2013. Soon after planning started to renovate the complex to make expand the headquarters of the company.

Development

Town Houses Proposed to Go on Watertown Masonic Temple Site

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A community meeting will be held to discuss plans to redevelop the Masonic Temple on Church Street and put townhouses on the site. Petitioner PNG, LLC will host the meeting on Thursday, July 28, 2016 at 7 p.m. in the Community Room in the Watertown Police Station, 552 Main St. Before the project is built a special permit must be approved. The plan calls for building five townhouses in two buildings on the Masonic Center at 32 Church St. (across from First Parish Church) which sits on a 17,685 square foot lot.

Development

Athenahealth’s Proposal for Arsenal Complex Gets Good Reviews

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After years of hashing out the details of the massive overhaul of the Arsenal on the Charles complex, Athenahealth officials presented their master plan to the Planning Board Wednesday night and overall received a positive response but there were still some concerns. 

Some big changes would be made to the former U.S. Army facility on Arsenal Street, including several new buildings, some retail space, parks, bicycle and pedestrian paths and a large new parking garage on the far west end of the site. The garage, which will fit 1,623 vehicles, will stand 58.5 feet tall at the highest spot but 54 feet on the side closest to homes. It would have eight floors of parking, with two underground. The garage had been one of the major points of contention for residents living near the complex. Steps have been taken to reduce the size of the garage and lessen the impact.

Development

Council Hashing Out Rules for Cutting Solo Driver Commuters

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The Town Council’s Transportation subcommittee would like to cut down the number of people driving alone to work as a way to reduce congestion on Watertown streets, but now they must figure out how to legislate that effort. The subcommittee met last week to discuss a town ordinance for Transportation Demand Management Programs.

Assistant Town Manager Steve Magoon suggested a transportation demand management plan be required for any non-residential project 10,000 square feet or more, or a residential project of 10 units or more. Also, any project that generates more than 150 average daily trips (a car coming and going would be two trips), or more than 15 trips during peak hours. A Transportation Demand Management plan would need to include:

Goals and targets for trip reduction based on the new trips from a project
A comprehensive list of measures used to reduce the number of trips
A description of ways of monitoring how well the measures are controlling trip numbers
A schedule for monitoring and reporting on the TDM
Provide a list of corrective measures (including additional trip reduction efforts, incentives or penalties) if the goals are not met

Exceptions
Some uses will be exempted from having TDM plan, including land or structures for religious or non-profit educational purposes, for child care facilities and land owned or leased by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or its subdivisions. 

Councilor Aaron Dushku wanted to remove the non-profit educational exemption. “I want to make sure Harvard doesn’t come in and have it not apply to them,” Dushku said.

Development

See the Latest Documents Submitted for the Athenahealth Project

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Watertown’s Department of Community Development and Planning released the following links to documents relating to the major renovation of the Arsenal on the Charles by owner Athenahealth. The company will present its plan to the Planning Board on Wednesday, July 13, 2016. Here is the announcement:

Athenahealth has submitted updated documents for the Campus Master Plan for the Arsenal on the Charles.  A staff report and supporting documents have also been finalized and uploaded. The new documents include:

Staff Report: http://www.watertown-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/19582
Design Peer Review:  http://www.watertown-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/19579
Transportation Peer Review: http://www.watertown-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/19580
Comments received as of June 9 2016: http://www.watertown-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/19581
Updated Special Permit Plans and Documents
Petitioner’s Memo on updates: http://www.watertown-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/19583
Updates Site Plan Review Narrative: http://www.watertown-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/19584
Updated Site Plans: http://www.watertown-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/19585
Transportation Improvements Proposed: http://www.watertown-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/19586
Final Draft Transportation Demand Management Program: http://www.watertown-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/19587

You can also look at the entire list of documents by clicking the link to the project folder.  Please be aware that some of the files are very large and can take a long time to open so please be patient.

Arsenal on the Charles

Athenahealth Reveals Plans to Cut Number of Cars Coming to Arsenal Site

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Athenahealth released details of how it will seek to reduce the number of people driving to work alone, and it will participate in the town’s effort to bring a shuttle to Watertown. 

On Wednesday, the company that owns the Arsenal on the Charles released its Transportation Demand Management plan that was created as part of its proposal to redevelop the former U.S. Army facility on Arsenal Street. The plan calls for the company to employ a full-time, on-site Transportation Demand Management Coordinator, as would any subsequent owner of the complex. It will also join MassRides, a group that will “encourage healthy transportation options for employees.” Athenahealth’s plan said the company will participate in the Watertown Transportation Management Association, which is likely to include a shuttle. The company said it would contribute in a proportional way with other developments in the area.