104 Main Street

Developer Discusses Vision for Major Project on Main Street

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Icon ArchitectureA view of the proposed project at 104-126 Main St. from Main Street. The developers of the project proposed on Main Street in Watertown want to create a place where residents can live steps away from restaurants, stores, and public transportation available in Watertown Square. John O’Connor, senior vice president for acquisitions and development for O’Connor Capital Partners recently spoke with Watertown News about the proposal for the 104-126 Main St. The development would have 146 residential units in four stories above 5,450 sq.

Development

City Hosting Walks & Bikes with Staff to Get Input to Shape Watertown’s Future

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Residents can join City staff on walks and bike rides around Watertown to take a look at the City’s major business areas, and get input about what they should look like in the future. The information gathered will be used in the process to update Watertown’s Comprehensive Plan. The series covers a number of areas where development has and will continue to occur, including Watertown Square, Pleasant Street, Coolidge Square, and the bike path near Arsenal Street that runs through East Watertown to Fresh Pond. Assistant Director of Planning Gideon Schreiber said the tours provide another way for people to give input on the Comprehensive Plan. “I’ve been on the Live Well Watertown committee for 10 years, and we’ve done these walks and often times when I’m doing the walk with residents they have questions, they have ideas, they have thoughts, and we thought that it would be a good opportunity to mix it up and do something different,” Schreiber said.

Development

City Wants Input on Comprehensive Plan, Providing Multiple Opporunties

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City of WatertownA screenshot of the interactive map where people can leave ideas for what they would like to see in Watertown. It is part of the process for updating the Comprehensive Plan, the City’s key planning document. The process of updating Watertown’s key planning document, the Comprehensive Plan, has begun, and people who live and/or work in the City can give their input in a variety of ways. City officials held a community forum on Thursday, but those who were unable to attend can still give their opinions and ideas, said Watertown’s Assistant Director of Planning Gideon Schreiber. The City adopted the Comprehensive Plan in 2015, and now the document is being updated.

104 Main Street

Possible Main St. Project Has Restaurant Owners Worried About Future

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Crown CafeDiners enjoy a meal at Crown Cafe on Main Street. The future of the restaurant is uncertain because a development has been proposed that includes the restaurant’s property. The new owners of the Crown Cafe invested tens-of-thousands of dollars into the space on Main Street and the restaurant began serving food in January. Just a few months later they worry whether their investment will be for nothing, and the space where their business sits may be demolished to make way for a proposed five-story mixed use development near Watertown Square. One hope for the owners may be a grassroots effort started to try to stop the development by making the area a historic district.

Business

See What Developers May Do on the Former Russo’s Site

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JacobsA view of the four-story life science center proposed for the former Russo’s site at 560 Pleasant St. Preliminary plans for the former Russo’s property on Pleasant Street have been submitted to the Watertown Planning Department, and include a lab/office building, retail space, a parking garage, with publicly-accessible open space in between. Saracen Properties and BentallGreenOak submitted the plans on April 7, and the group will have a developer’s conference with Planning staff about the project on the 4.82-acre property. Plans show a life science center, retail, and publicly-accessible open space. The project will have at least one community meeting before going to the Planning Board for consideration.

Development

Major Residential, Retail Project Proposed for Main Street, Near Watertown Square

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Icon ArchitectureA view of the proposed project at 104-126 Main St. from Main Street. A five-story mixed use project with housing units on top of retail and commercial space may be coming to Main Street. The development would include properties that currently include the Post Office, a restaurant, a boutique and other properties. The pre-application plans were sent to the to the Watertown Planning Department for review on March 31 show 146 residential units in four stories.

Around Town

Developer to Discuss Plans for Watertown Mall at Community Meeting

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Alexandria Real Estate EquitiesA rendering of the conceptual plans for the Watertown Mall property and adjacent properties. Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. will discuss conceptual plans for the Watertown Mall property and adjacent properties. Meetings are planned for Thursday, Jan. 27 and Tuesday, March 1 and will be held virtually. The plan calls for keeping the Target store, and building a campus on the properties that will include life science, retail and community uses.

Development

LETTER: Westside Resident Upset by Loss of Trees on Recently Sold Property

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Linda ScottStumps remaining after several trees were taken down at a property on Olcott Street. An Open Letter to the Watertown Planning and Zoning Boards:

There’s a war on trees on Olcott Street. On a one block street where the only major street tree is dying, it was a terrible shock to me and my neighbors when we returned home from our work and chores to find that a developer who bought 45-47 Olcott St., had, in one day, chopped down at least five trees on this private lot … five mature trees that were homes and roosts for wildlife; provided shade on those extremely hot days that have become so prevalent; provided privacy, a commodity hard to come by in this dense neighborhood; and served as a sound buffer for traffic and neighborhood noises. The trees that remained were “pruned” to within inches of their lives. Trees which, in short, made Olcott Street a much more pleasant and livable place were felled without any thought for how this would Impact this neighborhood.