101-103 Morse Street

Planning Board Supports 37 Unit Residential Conversion on Southside

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A rendering of the proposed 37-unit residential property at 101-103 Morse St. The proposed conversion of a historic building into a 37-unit apartment complex took a step toward final approval Wednesday night by gaining the support of the Planning Board. The property at 101-103 Morse Street used to be the Cortiva Massage School, but has not been used in several years. A previous owner tried twice unsuccessfully to get approval for a residential conversion — first with 46 units and then with 36. Mouhab Rizkallah of Lacourt Affordable Trust LLC presented the new plan, which he said has some significant differences from the previous ones.

Around Town

New Garage at Arsenal Yards Complete, Open for Customers

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The garage at Arsenal Yards is now open. The construction at Arsenal Yards reached a milestone recently as the new parking garage was completed and is open for customers. The garage will be the largest parking area at the new Arsenal Yards. It sits on the east side of the property, and will be in back of the Hampton Inn & Suites hotel. The following information was provided by Boylston Properties:

Arsenal Yards construction remains on schedule and we’re extremely excited to announce that the parking garage in front of Marshalls is NOW OPEN for use by all visitors, employees, and customers.

Development

Planning Board Supports Proposed Condo Building, Neighbors Have Concerns

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The proposal for 101 North Beacon St. would build a three-story building with 28 condos. The new proposed condominium building at 101 North Beacon Street received good marks for its design and the fact that the units will be sold, not rented, but those living nearby worry it will have a negative impact their quiet neighborhood. On July 10, the Planning Board gave its recommendation that the project should be allowed to go ahead. The project will now go to the Zoning Board of Appeals for final approval.

40B Project

Developer Eyeing Spot on Major Watertown Intersection for 40B Housing Project

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An image from Google Maps showing the proposed site of a 113 unit 40B housing project at the corner of Coolidge Hill Road and Arlington Street. A developer has started the process to build a Chapter 40B residential project on a major intersection in East Watertown. Under the state law to encourage the building of affordable housing, 40B projects do not have to comply with many local zoning rules. The project is proposed for 19 Coolidge Hill Road, on the former E.H. Hinds Atlantic Plant property. The proposal, according to information submitted to the MassHousing Partnership (which oversees 40B projects), would have 113 rental units on the 0.9 acre lot, and would have 28 affordable units.

101-103 Morse Street

Community Meeting on Proposed Apartment Building Conversion on Morse Street

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The developers of a proposed project that would turn the building at 101-103 Morse St. into an apartment building will host a community meeting on the Southside property. The meeting will be held at the property on Morse Street on Monday, June 24 at 7 p.m. on the site of the building, 103 Morse St. in Watertown. This is not the first proposals to convert building into residential units.

Arsenal Yards

Council Has Mixed Views on Requesting More Liquor License, Most Eyed by Arsenal Yards

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The Town Council voted to send a request to the State Legislature to allow Watertown to have 15 more liquor licenses, most of which would be taken up by tenants in the Arsenal Yards development. But the vote was not unanimous. The request for the additional licenses came from the developers of the retail/residential/office project at the former Arsenal Mall. Town Council President Mark Sideris said the situation is not unlike the project at Assembly Row in Somerville. “The project became much more than they thought it would be,” Sideris said.

Community Development

Council Questions Staffing Level of Planning Department With All the Development in Town

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Watertown’s Town Hall. With all the development going on in Watertown, and some recent controversial projects, the Town Council wondered whether the Community Development and Planning Department has the enough staff to handle it all. The questions were posed to Director of the Community Development and Planning Department (DCDP) and Assistant Town Manager Steve Magoon during the department’s budget hearing on Monday night. Development

Development has increased year after year over the past several years, and last year was the busiest, Magoon said. His department dealt with a record high 1,396 permits in 2018, up from 1,167 in 2017.

Business

Major Property on Galen Street in Watertown Sold

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The property where the the Colonial Buick/GMC dealer had been locate had been sold to a developer. The lot is located at 66 Galen St. in Watertown, just across the bridge from Watertown Square and next to the MBTA bus depot. The property was sold to the Boston Development group for $7 million, according to a story on NEREJ.com. The developers are interested in building a 100,000 sq.