Development

LETTER: Neighbors Say Athenahealth ‘Can Do Better’ With Construction, Parking, Lights

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Dear Athena,

Have to say, we are wondering when Athenahealth is going to live up to their last few years of lip service about being good neighbors and communicating with the town. Since garage construction was recently approved, right now would seem to be a good time to start sending notices in the mail, opening up a webpage, and sharing contact info for community concerns about construction issues. Searching through all related documents and emails, we could find only one person to contact. Apologies, Mark Blair for sending our first email only to you, but we had no other contact information. Please forward to other appropriate contacts at Athena.

Development

First Phase of Arsenal Renovation Approved, Including Large Parking Garage

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The first phase of the renovation of the Arsenal on the Charles, including a garage with more than 1,300 spaces, was unanimously approved by the Planning Board last week.  
The first phase of athenahealth’s master plan to expand and upgrade the Arsenal Complex consists of the new west parking garage, along with a new building on Arsenal Street and a pocket park along North Beacon Street. The new garage will have it has 1,390 spaces and is expandable to 1522 if stackers are put on the bottom floor of the garage, said Bob Corning, principal with Stantec. Using the stackers, one car will be put on a lift, raised up leaving space for a second car to park underneath. Some of the goals of athenahealth’s master plan is to make the campus more permeable for pedestrians, and accessible and inviting to the public, said Mark Blair, director of athenaenvironment. 
One way they are doing this is by widening the sidewalk in front of the new commercial building on Arsenal Street, near School Street. Landscaping and places to gather will be installed in that area.

Development

Changes Made to Garage in Athenahealths’ Renovation of the Arsenal Complex

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Some significant changes have been made to the proposed first phase of the Arsenal on the Charles renovation, including an alteration of the garage. 

Tuesday night, official from complex-owners Athenahealth discussed Phase 1 of the project, which will go before the Planning Board in September. The most significant change will be the removal of one of the two underground levels of parking in the new structure going on the west side of the Arsenal on the Charles. The change was made because there were some concerns about groundwater and soil removal, said Bob Corning, senior principal with Stantec. “The massing and height of the garage will be the same,” Corning said. “The underground level will be a bit taller to allow for stacked parking (cars on lifts) in the future if necessary.”

Development

Community Meeting Set for First Phase of the Arsenal on the Charles Renovation

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The Watertown Planning Department announced the first community meeting for the renovation of the Arsenal on the Charles by Athenahealth. The meeting on Phase One of the AODD Campus Master Plan will take place Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016, from 6:30-8 p.m. at 311 Arsenal Street, Watertown, in Building 311 (in the Arsenal on the Charles). When you arrive at Building 311, the hosts will direct you to the meeting room. Click on this link to see the documents relating to Phase One.

Development

Garage, Building on Arsenal St. in First Phase of Arsenal on the Charles Project

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Developers of the Arsenal on the Charles complex wasted little time before submitting plans for the first phase of the renovation of the former U.S. Army facility on Arsenal Street. Designs for the first phase of the renovation of the Arsenal on the Charles were submitted to the Watertown Planning Department just three weeks after complex owners, Athenahealth, received approval of their master plan for the area. The first phase contains the large new parking garage on the west side of the complex, as well as a new building that will have space for retail and commercial uses and a small park. The new building, known as Building 2, is a three-story 30,372 square foot building that will face Arsenal Street on the west side of the complex. The proposal includes a public plaza in front of the new building

The 1,534-space, 7-level garage is key to the project, which would increase the number of employees in the Arsenal on the Charles by 1,000 up to 4,500.

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

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

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.