Around Town

Watertown Art Students Bring Life to Wall in Coolidge Square

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A group of Watertown High School students have transformed a once gray wall in East Watertown now overflows with colorful fruit, vegetables and flowers. The mural went up on the wall next to Uncommon Grounds at the corner of Mt. Auburn Street and Melendy Avenue. This is the third collaboration between students from Watertown High School and artist Gregg Bernstein. The first two – the first along the path between Whites and Waverly avenues and second on Baptist Walk in Watertown Square – were large walls.

Development

Watertown Man Appealing CVS Development Drops Suit

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{Updated May 29 at 11:14 a.m.}

The man who filed an appeal against the Zoning Board of Appeal’s decision to approve the CVS in Coolidge Square has dropped his suit in State Land Court after an agreement deal with the developer. David Peckar lives on Wells Avenue, across the street from the back of the proposed CVS at the corner of Mt. Auburn and Arlington streets. He filed suit against the project saying that that project would negatively impact his home and neighborhood (see details here). He recently told his neighbors that he had dropped the suit.

Development

ZBA Approves East Watertown CVS Despite Pleas of Neighbors

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Residents of Coolidge Square left Wednesday’s Zoning Board of Appeals meeting upset and disappointed after the project they had fought so long against – the CVS – gained unanimous approval from the board. The 13,300-square-foot pharmacy will go at the corner of Mt. Auburn and Arlington streets and replace the gas station at the corner, an office building and the former Elks Club. Residents made their case that the store would adversely impact their neighborhood and homes. They came out and spoke for hours at the December ZBA meeting, held meetings, went door-to-door and stood on the street rallying support against the development.

Around Town

See What a Survey of Coolidge Square Residents Found

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Two East Watertown residents decided to ask their neighbors what they thought about Coolidge Square, and particularly about the proposed CVS/Pharmacy and 65 Grove Street proposal. Here’s what they found. Janet Jameson and Deb Peterson put together an online survey and publicized it. They received 90 respondents on questions such as how often the shop in Coolidge Square, what kind of stores would they like to see come to the area and whether their streets are impacted by traffic from the square. Traffic is a big concern for residents, according to the survey, and more than half wanted improved conditions for pedestrians.

Development

Residents Air Concerns with Coolidge Square CVS to Planning Board

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The Planning Board heard from plenty of concerned residents about plans to transform the corner of Mt. Auburn and Arlington streets into a CVS/Pharmacy. The proposed store and parking lot would replace the gas station at the corner, the Elk’s Club and a small office building in Coolidge Square. The project would include a 13,000 square foot store – slightly larger than the one in Watertown Square – and would have an entrance on the corner and another in the back parking lot. It would add landscaping along Arlington Street and in the parking lot.

Development

East End Residents Create Survey on Development in the Area

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Some significant developments have been proposed in East Watertown, and some area residents are interested in what people think about the projects. Developers seek to build a CVS/Pharmacy at the corner of Arlington and Mt. Auburn streets at the site of a gas station and the Elks Club (see more here). Another project has been proposed at the former GE Ionics site on Grove Street where an office building will be renovated and a multi-story garage is proposed (read more here). Both projects are on the agenda for the Nov.

Development

Residents Worry Eastside CVS Would Change Their Neighborhood

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The CVS/Pharmacy proposed in East Watertown would change the area, and make an already bad traffic situation worse, residents said at a meeting on the project. The store would go where the gas station now sits at the corner of Mt. Auburn and Arlington streets. It would also replace a small office building and the Elks Club and the parking lot would link to the lot on Wells Avenue. The project would make improve the Coolidge Square area by adding a pharmacy and sprucing up the site, said Bill York, attorney representing the developers at the meeting held at the Apartments at Coolidge School.

Around Town

Heavy Rains Flood Coolidge Square, Shut Down Intersection

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Twenty minutes of torrential rains turned Mt. Auburn Street into a river and flooded the intersection of Arlington and Mt. Auburn streets in East Watertown Monday morning. The rain water came up over the sidewalk in the intersection and one car got stuck in the water. It also came into the doorways of some businesses on Mt.