Development

Phase 3 of Arsenal Yards, with 7 Story Building, Approved by Planning Board

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The third phase of the Arsenal Yards project got the go ahead from members of the Planning Board on Thursday night. 

The latest portion of the former Arsenal Mall to be approved is Building F (see plans here), a seven story structure with ground floor retail, multiple levels of parking and topped by three stories of apartments. This is the building where a grocery store may be built, according to the design team, and will be located in the space where the bridge goes over the underpass in the Arsenal Mall parking lot. The size of the building was increased from what was proposed in the Master Plan, which required the Planning Board to approve an amendment to the Master Plan along with approving the site plan. The Board approved both unanimously. Originally the building was planned to have six stories, and be 83-feet, 6-inches tall, but the new height is 89 feet, 4 inches.

Business

Some Stores Staying Open During Arsenal Yards Construction, Others Closing

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Workers have been doing work to prepare for the beginning of construction of Arsenal Yards – the project that will transform the Arsenal Mall into a development with shopping, entertainment, dining, apartments and a hotel. During construction some stores will remain open, while others will shut their doors. During the construction of Arsenal Yards several stores will remain open, all in the section near Marshall’s. The stores are Marshall’s, Gap Outlet, Ann Taylor Factory, T-Mobile, Piercing Pagoda, and Chipotle, according to Boylston Properties, the developer of the mall. In addition, the food court, including Burger King and Subway, will remain open until early 2018.

Arsenal Mall

Phase 3 of Arsenal Yards Includes Residential, Retail and a Garage

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The third phase of the Arsenal Yards project will include the first of four residential buildings planned for the renovation of the Arsenal Mall. In July, Boylston Properties – the developers of the property – introduced plans for Building F (see plans here) during a Community Meeting. On the bottom floor will be restaurant and retail space, with a level of underground parking below and three levels of parking above. On top of the garage will be three floors of apartments. The design changed from the original proposal in the Master Plan Special Permit approved by the Planning Board.

Business

Old Navy Closing its Arsenal Mall Store on Thursday!

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The Old Navy store in the Arsenal Mall will be closing its doors on Thursday, July 27. 

On Wednesday evening, the shelves were almost empty, the walls stripped and manikins were being removed by employees. The store had a sign out front Wednesday announcing the closing and encourage shoppers to go to the location in Boston’s Downtown Crossing. Old Navy is located inside one of the historic buildings in the mall, which will be renovated as part of the transformation of the mall into a mixed use complex known as Arsenal Yards. That building and the one where Marshall’s is located will be part of the first phase of construction at Arsenal Yards. In the second phase, which was approved in mid-July, a new building will be constructed along Arsenal Street in what is now the parking lot and will have retail along with a Hampton Inn & Suites hotel and a multi-story garage.

Development

Find Out About Phase 3 of Arsenal Mall Project at Community Meeting

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A Community Meeting has been scheduled by Boylston Properties and Wilder Companies for Wednesday, July 26, 2017 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Innovation Space at the Arsenal Yards/Mall. The purpose of the meeting is to review the Phase III/Building F plans of the Arsenal Yards Master Plan. Building F is proposed to be a seven story residential building with 58 housing unites and 45,000 square feet of retail and/or restaurant space. The proposal has one more story and 23 more housing units than proposed in Master Plan passed by the Planning Board. The building would be located where the current bridge between to the two sections of the malls are located, and would be near the northeast corner of Arsenal Park.

Development

Planning Board Approves Hotel and Garage at Arsenal Yards

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After hearing complaints about the design of the proposed Hampton Inn & Suites hotel at Arsenal Yards, designers simplified the look and reduced the number of colors to be used. The Planning Board approved of the changes and voted to approve Phase 2 of the renovation of the former Arsenal Mall on Wednesday night. Phase 2 includes Building B which has retail space on the ground floor and above it a hotel on Arsenal Street with a garage as you go back from the street. When the drawings were first presented at a community meeting in May, people complained materials used were not the red brick of the historic Watertown Arsenal, and that too many colors and materials were used on the outside. Planning Board member Janet Buck said that she did not like the first rendering of the hotel.

Government

Discussions for Renovation of Arsenal Park to Start Soon, See One Possible Addition

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With all the changes coming to the Arsenal Mall, the park next door will also see some changes. Town officials will soon begin discussing how to renovate Arsenal Mall, and the changes could include the relocation of a small piece of the historic Arsenal. During a community meeting about the second phase of the Arsenal Yards project Watertown Senior Planner Gideon Schreiber said that discussions about the park will begin soon. “On June 21 there will be a meeting with an internal (town) group and abutters to discuss the process,” Schreiber said. Following that meeting, there will be public meetings to discuss changes to the park.

Arsenal Mall

Residents Want to Talk Taxes, Traffic & New Hotel at Recent Arsenal Yards Meeting

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Residents received more information about the hotel planned for the renovated Arsenal Mall and the rest of phase 2, and gave it mixed reviews. The 155 room Hampton Inn & Suites is planned to go in Building B, along with retail on the ground floor and a six level parking garage. While Wednesday’s meeting focused on the plans for the second phase of the Arsenal Yards project, residents brought up other concerns, including the taxes that the project would pay to the town. Developers have requested a tax assurance from the town that would cap the tax rate for the project. Tom Wilder, of mall management company The Wilder Cos., said the tax estimates are still being calculated but it will be discussed at a later date. “We want to have a forum on that when the information is available,” Wilder said.