Development

Town, Citizens Group Hosting Meetings on Zoning Changes Near Malls

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The proposal to change the zoning for the area around the malls on Arsenal Street has sparked much concern and many questions, and both the town and citizen group Sustainable Watertown will host meetings to discuss the proposed Regional Mixed Use District (RMUD). During Monday night’s Watertown Inauguration Ceremony, Town Council President Mark Sideris announced a pair of meetings about the RMUD hosted by the town and to be held at the Arsenal Project. Both meetings will be held on Saturdays from 10 a.m.-1 p.m., the first will be on Jan. 9 and the second on Jan. 16.

Around Town

See the Top Stories of 2015 from Watertown News

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Big issues seemed to be everywhere you looked around Watertown in 2015, with new developments, the firefighter contract, the opioid epidemic and the Town Election, plus Watertown athletes enjoyed great success. Development
Rising above all the major issues this year was development. A number of major projects were proposed in town, many of which were approved. In January, the controversial East Watertown CVS got approved. In June, the major apartment complex on Arsenal Street, Elan Watertown, received approval – a project that went through the town’s new Design Standards and Guidelines.

Development

LETTER: Former Town Councilor Worried About RMUD Proposal

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Letter to the Editor

I attended the council subcommittee meeting last week and came out upset. This is the most important issue this Council will face and three council members voted on amendments to present to the full nine member council for their vote at their regular council meeting. A recommendation for crucial amendments including zoning for this major development should not have been sent to a subcommittee as well-meaning the members are. First, I want to address the manner in which the Chair Councillor Steve Corbett so rudely ruled Deborah Peterson out of order as soon as she was beginning to present her statement. This is unacceptable and never should be condoned.

Arsenal on the Charles

Athenahealth Gets OK to Start Master Plan, With Some Alterations

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Many neighbors and other residents  are worried about what the new Arsenal on the Charles complex will look like, and the owners – athenahealth – will now be able to make give a more detailed presentation after the Town Council approved a master plan process. Athenahealth purchased the former U.S. Army complex from Harvard University, and plans to make a corporate headquarters with a retail section. The company wants to know they will be able to do the whole project, and seeks to get a master plan approved to layout the changes. Monday night the Town Council approved changing in the town zoning that will allow for a master plan to be proposed, and added some limits to what can be built at the Arsenal. New buildings, a parking garage and glassing in the space between the set of long buildings on the eastside of the Arsenal are proposed.

Around Town

We’re Number 1! – Watertown is Fastest Growing Community in Mass.

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With all the new housing going up around town, it may not come as a surprise, but Watertown had the fastest growth in Massachusetts according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The town grew by 997 people to 34,127 from July 1, 2013 to July 1, 2014, according to estimated population changes made by the Census Bureau. The 3 percent growth lead all cities and towns in the Bay State. The estimate takes into account births, deaths, immigration and housing growth (see details on the methodology here). Bell Watertown, formerly Alta at the Estate, opened within that time period, as did smaller apartment complexes in the Pleasant Street Corridor.

Development

Planning Board Has Mixed Views on East Watertown Hotel Proposal

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A proposed hotel on Elm Street failed to get the support of a majority of the Planning Board, but the project will still move on to the Zoning Board for final approval. 
Thursday night the Planning Board heard the proposal for the 104-room hotel at 80 Elm St. – the former Atlantic Battery Company site right behind Target at the Watertown Mall. The hotel is being developed by Elm Hospitality LLC. Owner Cherag Patel said the hotel would not be full service – no restaurant open (just a breakfast area) and no meeting rooms. He could not say which franchise would run the hotel, but said it would be part of the Marriott, Hyatt or Hilton brands. The hotel has undergone some major changes since it was first brought forward at a community meeting in January.

Development

Planning Board Approves Major Apartment Complex on Arsenal Street

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The Planning Board unanimously approved a major apartment complex at the corner of Arsenal and Irving streets. The project has also served as a test case for Watertown’s design standards and guidelines. The complex, called Elan, is being developed by Greystar. It will stretch along Arsenal Street from Irving Street east to another new apartment complex, will have 282 apartments and more than 10,000 square feet of retail space. The retail will sit across a shared driveway from a planned market at the next door property – 202-204 Arsenal St.

Development

LETTER: Developer Makes Case for a Hotel on Elm Street in Watertown

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There will be a Special Meeting of the Watertown Planning Board on Thursday, May 21, 2015, in the Town Council Chamber of Town Hall, 149 Main Street, Watertown, to hear a proposal to build a new business class five story hotel on the site formerly occupied by Atlantic Battery. The developer, Cherag Patel, from the Chicago area has owned and developed hotels for the past sixteen years. Mr. Patel said “We are excited about the opportunity to bring another marquis hotel to Watertown. We feel that Watertown’s location is superior to Cambridge and Waltham because Watertown has the unique ability to offer guests both an urban experience like Cambridge, and a suburban experience, like Waltham. Our market research firmly establishes that there is so much demand for hotel rooms from Watertown businesses such as Athena Health, Tufts Health, the Perkins School for the Blind, and the many other thriving businesses in Watertown, that a second hotel in Watertown will flourish.