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.

Government

Funding to Design Arsenal Park Renovation Approved

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A view of the planned renovation of Arsenal Park. The Watertown Town Council approved $250,000 to be spent on the design of the majority of Arsenal Park renovation, while another section is moving ahead with funding from the developers of Arsenal Yards. The money will be used to do the detailed designs to all of the park, except for the eastern most part, which is being worked on in conjunction with Arsenal Yards. The project includes a multipurpose field —including a softball field — a playground in the northwest corner with a new bathroom, a picnic area and an expanded splash pad. In addition, the plan includes two basketball courts and three tennis courts, next to a picnic area and space for community gardens.

Around Town

Temporary Change to Access Road to Arsenal Park, Harvard Vanguard

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The blue lines show the temporary traffic flow through Arsenal Yards to Arsenal Park and Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates. Arsenal Park is in the upper right corner of the illustration. The following information was provided by Boylston Properties:

Starting July 1, Boylston Properties, the developer of Arsenal Yards, will make temporary changes to the access road for Arsenal Park and Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates (HVMA) to accommodate the next construction phase. Park Drive, the current one-way road accessing Arsenal Park and HVMA, will remain open during the 2-week construction period to build the temporary access road. The temporary road will provide 2-way traffic access with a right-in entrance from Arsenal Street and exiting via a right turn only onto Arsenal Street.

Business

Japanese Restaurant with Locations Worldwide Opening First US Location in Watertown

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The following information was provided by Boylston Properties and the Wilder Cos.:

Cluck yeah! Boylston Properties and Wilder proudly announced today that Japan’s Yuki Watanabe and Tori Jiro Executive Chef, Chef Mizushima will be serving up their world-famous “Yakitori” at Arsenal Yards. With over 60 restaurants in Japan, Hong Kong, The Philippines and Italy, Yuki Watanabe will open his first U.S. restaurant at Arsenal Yards, bringing iconic Japanese staples to Greater Boston’s next hottest neighborhood. When Tori Jiro Founder Yuki Watanabe graduated from college, he was torn between the decision of job hunting or starting his own business. His favorite food in college was yakitori, a popular Japanese meal that consists of bite sized pieces of chicken on skewers cooked over charcoal.

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.

Development

Subcommittee Recommends Adding 15 More Liquor Licenses, Most at Arsenal Yards

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Up to 15 restaurants will be opening at Arsenal Yards, but the Town does not have enough liquor licenses for all of them. A Council subcommittee recommends that the Town of Watertown seek to add 15 more liquor licenses, but could not agree on whether to waive the license fee for restaurants if they will not open for more than a year. The Rules & Ordinances Committee met on April 17 to discuss a request from Arsenal Yards to add more liquor licenses for anticipated tenants of the project on the former Arsenal Mall site. Developers also asked for fees to be delayed until the year in which the establishment opens. Additional Licenses

Andrew Copelotti, project manager for Arsenal Yards, said that the new project has signed, or expects to sign leases with more than a dozen restaurants or other businesses seeking liquor licenses.

Around Town

Nationally Famous Pizzeria Coming to Watertown

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The sign outside the original Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana in New Haven, Conn. Watertown residents will be able to get pizza from one of the most famous pizzerias in the nation when it opens at the new Arsenal Yards project. Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana recently signed a lease to open at the new development on the site of the former Arsenal Mall, according to Andrew Copelotti, project manager for developer Boylston Properties. Frank Pepe’s was founded in New Haven, Conn., in 1925 by Frank Pepe, who emigrated from Italy’s Amalfi Coast. The pizzeria is considered by some to make the best pizza in the United States, including being ranked No.

Arsenal Park

Town Looks to Team With Arsenal Yards Developers to Fast Track Arsenal Park Improvements

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An illustration made by developers of Arsenal Yards of what how the redeveloped Arsenal Mall could interact with next door Arsenal Park. The final buildings and park design, however, will not look like this drawing. A portion of the Arsenal Park renovations may be fast-tracked if the State Legislature allows the Town of Watertown to team with the developers of Arsenal Yards on the design and construction of the East End park. Town officials have been discussing how to renovate and upgrade Arsenal Park for a few years, but progress has not be fast enough to keep pace with the work at the next door property – Arsenal Yards. Developers of that project, Boylston Properties, approached the Town to see if they could speed up work on the east side of the park if they are able to provide funding and construction crews, said Assistant Town Manager Steve Magoon.