65 Grove Street

Zoning Board Approves Office Building Redevelpment in East Watertown

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Wednesday night, the Zoning Board of Appeals approved a major office renovation, including a new garage, noting that the project had been a collaboration of developers with the town and neighbors. The project at 65 Grove Street, being developed by Cresset Grove LLC, includes 135,000 square feet of office space, and a garage that will fit 295 vehicles. Developer Ed Nardi told the ZBA he does not have a tenant lined up. He envisions it becoming a first-class office building or used for research and development. The site could house one to six tenants, and could have 300-500 employees depending on the use, Nardi said.

Development

Watertown Man Appealing CVS Development Drops Suit

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{Updated May 29 at 11:14 a.m.}

The man who filed an appeal against the Zoning Board of Appeal’s decision to approve the CVS in Coolidge Square has dropped his suit in State Land Court after an agreement deal with the developer. David Peckar lives on Wells Avenue, across the street from the back of the proposed CVS at the corner of Mt. Auburn and Arlington streets. He filed suit against the project saying that that project would negatively impact his home and neighborhood (see details here). He recently told his neighbors that he had dropped the suit.

Development

Town Council to Consider Special Zoning for Arsenal on the Charles

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On Monday June 8, the Town Council will hold a special meeting to discuss zoning changes proposed for the Arsenal on the Charles complex, owned by athenahealth. The company seeks to make changes to the Arsenal Overlay Development District, which covers the complex. The changes would allow the creation of a master plan to redevelop the Arsenal on the Charles. Among other things it would allow an increase of height of new construction, change parking requirements and modify retail categories to allow limited retail uses within the complex. A more detailed list of the changes proposed to the Arsenal Overlay Development District can be seen on the town website (click here).

Development

Planning Board Has Mixed Views on East Watertown Hotel Proposal

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A proposed hotel on Elm Street failed to get the support of a majority of the Planning Board, but the project will still move on to the Zoning Board for final approval. 
Thursday night the Planning Board heard the proposal for the 104-room hotel at 80 Elm St. – the former Atlantic Battery Company site right behind Target at the Watertown Mall. The hotel is being developed by Elm Hospitality LLC. Owner Cherag Patel said the hotel would not be full service – no restaurant open (just a breakfast area) and no meeting rooms. He could not say which franchise would run the hotel, but said it would be part of the Marriott, Hyatt or Hilton brands. The hotel has undergone some major changes since it was first brought forward at a community meeting in January.

Development

Planning Board Approves Major Apartment Complex on Arsenal Street

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The Planning Board unanimously approved a major apartment complex at the corner of Arsenal and Irving streets. The project has also served as a test case for Watertown’s design standards and guidelines. The complex, called Elan, is being developed by Greystar. It will stretch along Arsenal Street from Irving Street east to another new apartment complex, will have 282 apartments and more than 10,000 square feet of retail space. The retail will sit across a shared driveway from a planned market at the next door property – 202-204 Arsenal St.

Development

LETTER: Developer Makes Case for a Hotel on Elm Street in Watertown

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There will be a Special Meeting of the Watertown Planning Board on Thursday, May 21, 2015, in the Town Council Chamber of Town Hall, 149 Main Street, Watertown, to hear a proposal to build a new business class five story hotel on the site formerly occupied by Atlantic Battery. The developer, Cherag Patel, from the Chicago area has owned and developed hotels for the past sixteen years. Mr. Patel said “We are excited about the opportunity to bring another marquis hotel to Watertown. We feel that Watertown’s location is superior to Cambridge and Waltham because Watertown has the unique ability to offer guests both an urban experience like Cambridge, and a suburban experience, like Waltham. Our market research firmly establishes that there is so much demand for hotel rooms from Watertown businesses such as Athena Health, Tufts Health, the Perkins School for the Blind, and the many other thriving businesses in Watertown, that a second hotel in Watertown will flourish.

Development

Changes Made to Hotel Proposal Do Not Satisfy Concerned Residents

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Despite a local developer’s efforts to redesign plans for a proposed hotel at 80 Elm Street, Town Councilor Angeline Kounelis and a group of East end residents said they still don’t want it in their neighborhood last week. “It does not belong on Elm Street,” Kounelis said. The residents and several Town Councilors gathered at he Apartments at Coolidge School’s Function Room on Arlington Street, May 7 for an option neighborhood meeting about the proposed five-story, 104-room hotel. Despite already meeting the required number of neighborhood meetings, developer Cherag Patel held the meeting to address concerns residents had previously expressed. The project is scheduled to by heard at a special planning board meeting on May 21.

Development

After Long Process, Watertown’s Comprehensive Plan Nears Completion

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The Town Council, and the Planning Board gathered with residents at the Watertown Middle School this week to put the final touches on the town’s long anticipated Comprehensive Plan. The Council and the Board presented the plan during a joint conference Wednesday, May 6. The comprehensive plan outlines the town’s goals through 2025, and is the town’s first since 1988, according to the town comprehensive plan website. The plan calls to “reinforce Watertown Square as a town center” transform Arsenal Corridor into a “dynamic mixed-use-corridor.”

The town original aimed to have the plan completed in 2013, but the process took longer than expected, Steve Magoon, Director of Planning and Development said. The Planning Board and the Town Council will vote on the proposed plan at upcoming meetings.