Business

Furniture Store Featuring Hand Made Items Opens at the Arsenal Project

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The owners of the Arsenal Mall are excited to announce Décor Mantra is now open at the Arsenal Project. Muhammad Irfan, the owner, shares his love for selling unique, specialty furniture and home décor. Each piece is handmade or hand carved creating a one-of-a-kind decoration for your home. Décor Mantra is known for their beautiful hand knotted oriental rugs, solid rose wood furniture, and brass and onyx home decorations. The merchandise is imported from around the world including India, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey, Africa, Bali and Indonesia creating a wide-ranging and diverse selection.

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.

Around Town

Tour the Arsenal Mall Property to See Where the New Buildings Would Go

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The owners of the Arsenal Mall invite the public to take a tour of the property to see exactly where the new buildings are proposed to go in the renovated mall. Picturing exactly what changes are being discussed for the Arsenal Project can be tough, with new buildings planned where parking lots, or even current buildings now sit. Also, some current buildings will remain. For instance, looking at the picture above, the old building on the right, where Marshalls is located, will stay, but the pedestrian area and the new building (in white) will sit in space now occupied by the section of the mall added to connect the two historic buildings. The owners and designers of the new mall will lead a tour on Wednesday, June 1 at 6 p.m. The group will meet at the Innovation Space, inside the mall, near the Old Navy entrance.

Arsenal Mall

Owners of Arsenal Project Want to Modernize Mall, Embrace Surroundings

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The new Arsenal Mall will have smaller buildings, try to create inviting public spaces and celebrate the natural areas around it, including Arsenal Park. The owners of the Arsenal Mall – now the Arsenal Project – discussed some of their ideas for their grand renovation of the mall on the East End of Watertown in the first of a series of public meetings on Wednesday night. The mall and the Arsenal Park, right behind it, could use some upgrades, said Tom Wilder, principal of Wilder Cos., which operates the mall. “When we got the Arsenal property it was not functioning well. Folks hadn’t been here for a years,” Wilder said.

Business

Plans for New Hotel in Watertown Coming into Focus

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Details about the proposal to build a hotel on the former Charles River Saab site are emerging and residents will have the chance to sound off on the project. The new owners of the Arsenal Mall (now known as the Arsenal Project), Boyslton Properties, also purchased the former car dealership, across Arsenal Street from the mall. The new hotel will be a Marriott, according to a report in the Watertown Tab, and will be designed by the same architecture firm behind the Marriott in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston. (Read more details by clicking here). A proposal to change the zoning for the areas including the property where the hotel is planned, would allow a building as high as 79 feet tall or six stories.

Around Town

Council Opens Way for Multi-Story Hotel in Watertown’s East End

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The Town Council opened the way for a multi-story hotel to be built in town, but only in a small area on the east side of town on Arsenal Street by unanimously voting to change a town zoning ordinance. The change of the zoning ordinance allows a hotel of up to 79 feet and seven stories tall, and it will be limited to the Industrial 1 (I-1) Zone. The Council also considered extending the changes in the zoning to I-2 and I-3 zones. One such hotel  has been proposed at the former Charles River Saab site which is in the I-1 zone. Other changes to the zoning include a reduction of parking requirements to .75 cars per room and one for each employee at peak times, and allowing employees to park one behind another blocking them in.