Development

Planning Board Will Hear Arsenal Mall Renovation Plans Thursday

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The long awaited plans for the renovation of the Arsenal Mall will be presented to the Watertown Planning Board on Thursday night at 7 p.m. in Town Hall. 

While the master plan will be presented by developers from Boyslton Properties, Planning Board Chairman John Hawes said the staff report will not be completed by Thursday. The Planning Department’s report will presented at a future Planning Board meeting and a vote can happen then. There will be opportunity for the public to comment on the plans, said Assistant Town Manager Steve Magoon. Because the project sits in the recently created Regional Mixed Use District (RMUD) the Planning Board gives the final approval for the master pan. Most projects need approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Affordable Housing

Planning Board Supports Increasing Affordable Housing Requirements for New Developments

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The Planning Board voted to support a zoning change that would require developers building medium and large housing projects in Watertown to include more affordable housing. 

Last Thursday, the Planning Board discussed the zoning amendment and voted unanimously to recommend that the Town Council adopt the changes. The proposal was brought to the Town Council by the Watertown Housing Partnership. It was considered first by the Economic Development and Planning Subcommittee and then by the full Council, before being sent to the Planning Board to sign off on it, said Andrea Adams, senior planner in the Watertown Community Development and Planning Department. The town has a requirement that projects of 6 more units have 12.5 percent of units be rented or sold at an affordable rate. When the Town Council approved the Regional Mixed Use District (RMUD) for the section of east Arsenal Street earlier this year, the affordable housing requirement was increased to 15 percent for that area, Adams said.

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

Councilors Interviewing Planning Board Nominee Same Night as Meeting on Arsenal Mall Project

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A Town Council subcommittee will interview a nominee for an opening on the Watertown Planning Board on the same evening that redevelopment of the Arsenal Mall will be discussed across town and the nominee is a familiar face around the mall. 

The Committee on Economic Development and Planning will interview Janet Buck for an opening on the Planning Board. The board will have the final approval of projects in the Regional Mixed Use District, of which the mall makes up a significant portion. Buck currently serves on the town’s Stormwater Advisory Committee. She is also volunteer coordinator for HATCH, the Watertown Free Public Library’s makerspace that uses space in the Arsenal Project (formerly the Arsenal Mall). The interview will take place at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 18 at 6 p.m. in the Town Council Office on the second floor of Town Hall.

Development

Man Who Was a Watchdog on Arsenal Mall Project is Up for Spot on Planning Board

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A man who gazed a critical eye on the proposed renovation of the Arsenal Mall has been nominated to fill an opening on the Watertown Planning Board – the group that will make decisions on that and other projects in the new Regional Mixed Use District (RMUD). Gary Shaw has been recommended as the new member of the Planning Board by Town Manager Michael Driscoll. Shaw is an architect who has worked on some major projects around New England who lives in Watertown, and he would replace Neal Corbett who stepped down from the board. Shaw, along with the other four members of the Planning Board – John Hawes, Jeffrey Brown, Linda Tuttle-Barletta and Fergal Brennock – will be interviewed by the Town Council’s Committee on Economic Development and Planning. A recommendation will then the sent to the full Council on whether to approve these appointments.

Arenal Street Corridor

Proposed New Zoning for Area of Malls Concerns Residents

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The Planning Board held the first public hearing on Wednesday about potential changes to the east end of Arsenal Street that would expand possible uses from industrial to include retail, office and residential. The proposal concerned and confused many residents who attended the meeting. Boylston Properties, the owners of the Arsenal Project (former Arsenal Mall), proposed zoning changes to allow them to transform the mall into a live-work-play area. The proposal brought forward by Boylston Properties would create a Regional Mixed Use District for the area south of Arsenal Street including the Arsenal Mall, Home Depot and the building with Miller’s Ale House. Town officials added some areas to the proposed RMUD: the area where the Arsenal Mall is located, the west side of Elm Street and part of the south side of Coolidge Avenue.

Development

Planning Board Approves Office Complex, Worries About New Entrance

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The renovation of the Verizon facility on Arsenal Street received approval from the Planning Board, but not without concerns for how the project would impact the nearby neighborhood of Coolidge Square. The proposed project, called Linx Watertown, would have 185,000 square feet of office space, featuring a two-story atrium lobby with a cafe. It would have a significant amount of green space and would be located along the Watertown Community Path so developers hope it some employees will ride their bicycles to work. Developer Boylston Properties also believes the location close to Coolidge Square will help attract companies, which they believe will relocate from areas such as Kendall Square in Cambridge and Rte. 128.