Development

After Long Process, Watertown’s Comprehensive Plan Nears Completion

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The Town Council, and the Planning Board gathered with residents at the Watertown Middle School this week to put the final touches on the town’s long anticipated Comprehensive Plan. The Council and the Board presented the plan during a joint conference Wednesday, May 6. The comprehensive plan outlines the town’s goals through 2025, and is the town’s first since 1988, according to the town comprehensive plan website. The plan calls to “reinforce Watertown Square as a town center” transform Arsenal Corridor into a “dynamic mixed-use-corridor.”

The town original aimed to have the plan completed in 2013, but the process took longer than expected, Steve Magoon, Director of Planning and Development said. The Planning Board and the Town Council will vote on the proposed plan at upcoming meetings.

Development

Planning Board Gets Look at New Rules for Developments in Watertown

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After several months work, the Planning Board got to look at the new rules that could shape how future building projects will look in Watertown. The design standards will not just determine what is built inside the box that makes up a building, said Assistant Town Manager Steve Magoon, it will also impact how it influences surrounding areas and environments. The proposed design standards were presented to the Planning Board Tuesday by the consultant hired to come up with the alterations to the town’s zoning, David Gamble of Gamble Associates. “Planning works and this is what should be doing,” Gamble said. “You are ahead of the game compared to other towns not under development pressure.”
The Town Council requested the design standards after the town went through development booms on Pleasant and Arsenal streets.

Development

Planning Board Invites Public to Comment on Proposed Zoning Changes

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The Watertown Planning Board will review the proposed changes to the town’s Zoning Ordinance, and seeks input from residents. 

The board will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, March 31 at 7 p.m. in the Town Council Chamber in Town Hall, 149 Main St., Watertown. The board will consider implementing Design Standards and to adopt a separate set of Design Guidelines which are not part of the Ordinance, that together provide requirements and guidance for new development and redevelopment within Watertown. See the proposed changes to the Zoning Ordinance here: http://www.watertown-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/16416

Business

See What the Project at Irving, Arsenal Streets will Look Like

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After many months of designing and going back to the drawing board, the major residential and retail project at the corner of Arsenal and Irving streets was introduced to the public this week. The mixed-use project named Elan Watertown will include two buildings linked by a two-story glass bridge, an which have 282 apartments and space for three stores or other retail uses. It will be four stories and a maximum of 50 feet high, said architect Tom Schultz of The Architectural Team. The development on the Arsenal Street corridor, a few blocks east of Watertown Square, has been designed by developer Greystar and the consultant hired by the town to develop the new design standards and guidelines – Gamble Associates. It has been a test case for the proposed new design rules.

Development

Town Hosting Zoning 101 Presentation on How Developments are Approved

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To say Watertown has become a hotbed for development is an understatement, and town officials want to let residents and others know about the process developments go through for approval and the state and local laws and regulations that must be followed. Town Council President Mark Sideris announced the public presentation, “The Zoning Act and Municipal Regulation of Land Use,” at Tuesday’s Town Council meeting. It will be held Thursday, March 19 from 6:30-9 p.m. in the Watertown Free Public Library’s Watertown Savings Bank Room. At the meetings, attorneys Mark R. Reich and Carolyn Murray of Kopelman and Paige – the town’s attorneys – will cover the process from pre-permitting to consideration of by the Planning and Zoning boards through the approval and issuance of variances and special permits, Sideris said. Following the presentation, a question and answer period will be held.

Development

Residents Invited to Hear About Complex Planned for Irving, Arsenal Streets

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See the design of the apartment complex at the corner of Irving and Arsenal streets known as Elan that will be submitted to the Planning Board by Greystar. The project that will go on the former Pirolli brick yard has been following the recommendations of the Watertown design standards and design guidelines, and will include around 270 apartments along with space for stores and a restaurant. The meeting will be held Monday, March 9 from 6-8 p.m. at the Apartments at Coolidge School, 319 Arlington St. in Watertown. Developers Greystar Real Estate Partners and Oaktree FX have periodically met with residents to show designs and get feedback.

Development

Traffic Concerns Hold Up Plans for Old GE Site on Grove Street

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Neighbors and members of the Planning Board like most parts of the plan to redevelop the GE Ionics site on Grove Street, but the traffic plans upset neighbors and the board, alike. Developer Cresset Grove LLC proposes to reduce the size of the existing building at 65 Grove St. and create a 134,000-square-foot office and research facility, with a multi-story garage. “The proposal encompasses an exciting facelift to an older structure which we think really reinvigorates the structure and reinvigorates the site itself,” said Bill York, the attorney representing the developers. The site has been unused since 2010 when GE move out.

Development

Town’s Design Guidelines and Standards Revealed by Consultant

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A draft of the set of requirements that guide and limit developers who build new projects in Watertown was revealed by the urban design consultants hired by the town. Last week, David Gamble of Gamble Associates discussed the proposed design guidelines and design standards that will shape how development will be done in Watertown in the future. They were presented at the third public workshop held in the past four months held during the making of the guidelines and standards. The Town Council voted to hire the consultant to address what they and many residents believed had become out of control development in Watertown. The changes were broken into nine categories: public realm interface, building massing, facade treatment, parking & access, building height, material selection, sustainable design, building setbacks and signage.