Planning Board Approves Master Plan for Watertown Mall Transformation

The master plan for Alexandria Real Estate’s Watertown Mall Transformation was approved by the Planning Board. (Courtesy of Alexandria Real Estate)

The basic plan for remaking a large portion of Arsenal Street, including the Watertown Mall, has been approved by the Planning Board. Before the multiple lab buildings, residential units, retail, and garages can be built, however, developers will have to come back for approval of each building. Almost all of the project falls within Watertown’s Regional Mixed Use District (RMUD), which allows for additional height and density that most of the town but requires a master plan to be approved. On Nov.

Master Plan for Watertown Mall Redevelopment & Parking Garage Going Before Planning Board

A view of the plans for the Watertown Mall Transformation Project. (Illustration from Alexandria Real Estate)

Wednesday night, the Planning Board will hear plans for the redevelopment of the Watertown Mall and nearby properties planned by Alexandria Real Estate Equities. Alexandria seeks a Master Plan Special Permit with Site Plan Review for what is known as the Watertown Mall Transformation Project. The plan calls for four office/lab buildings, a new retail building, two amenity spaces and two parking garages, including one that would be a separate project at 480 Arenal Way. The application reads: “The proposed master plan would create a new mix of uses within a development that spans 4 existing parcels, carried out in phases, with laboratory/R&D, retail, office, commercial and amenity space within 8 buildings (Target/building to remain), with supporting structured and surface parking.”

Watertown Student Art to be Displayed at Local Mall

Artwork created by students in the Watertown Public Schools will be on display beginning this week. The Watertown Schools announced the Visual Art Show at the Watertown Mall, 550 Arsenal St. The show features works from students in grades K to 12. It begins April 6 and runs through May 2. An opening reception will be held on Tuesday, April 11 at 6-8 p.m.

UPDATED: Developers Hosting Virtual Meeting on Garage Planned Near Watertown Mall

Alexandria Real Estate EquitiesA conceptual drawing of the garage that may go at 480 Arsenal Way, and would be part of the “Watertown Mall Transformation.” (UPDATE: The date of the meeting was changed because the original date conflicted with the Hanukkah holiday. The new date is reflected in the story). The following announcement was sent out by the City of Watertown:

Please join Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (ARE) for a review and discussion on plans for a proposed garage in the front section of the surface parking area at 480 Arsenal Way. The purpose of this meeting is to update the public with ARE’s proposed plans to develop the garage, as part of ARE’s Watertown Mall transformation.

Preliminary Plans Submitted for Multi-Story Garage at Transformed Watertown Mall

Alexandria Real Estate EquitiesA conceptual drawing of the garage that may go at 480 Arsenal Way, and would be part of the “Watertown Mall Transformation.” The first step in the redevelopment of the Watertown Mall, and neighboring properties, appears to be the construction of a multi-level parking garage. It would be part of a complex that includes life science buildings, retail, and second parking garage. Alexandria Real Estate Equities submitted preliminary plans to the Watertown Planning Department for a 700-vehicle garage that would be built at 480 Arsenal Way. It is part of what developers are calling the “Watertown Mall Transformation Project.”

LETTER: Group Urges Watertown Mall Redevelopment to be Net Zero Energy

An Open Letter to Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.:

With over 170 people attending your first public meeting on Alexandria’s plan for redevelopment of the Watertown Mall, we know that you are aware of how important this project is to the community of Watertown. We also know that Alexandria has committed to being  “a mission-driven company dedicated to making a positive and lasting impact on the world…”  Your website states that “environmental, social, and governance (ESG) is core to our DNA.”  We have high hopes for this project. Watertown Faces Climate Change, a local climate action group (see affiliations below)  calls on you to do the work to make these buildings Net Zero Energy/Platinum LEED. We know that Alexandria has the capacity to build to these standards because you have done so at 325 Binney St. in Cambridge.

Developer to Discuss Plans for Watertown Mall at Community Meeting

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.

Local Dance Studio Survives the Challenges of the Pandemic, Uncertainty About Home at Watertown Mall

The Watertown Mall recently changed owners when Watertown Mall Associates Limited Partnership sold it for $130 million to Alexandria Real Estate Equities on April 21. Business owners in the mall spent much of the early summer wondering what the new changes would mean for them, including Maria Zullo, owner of Miss Maria’s School of Dance. Miss Maria’s School of Dance (MMDS) was founded 10 years ago in Watertown and has grown into a thriving local business. The studio was originally located on Waverley Avenue in the current location of Suzyn Day Spa, and has since moved three times, growing larger with each move. 

The first location had a single dance room, and after two years, MMSD expanded into a three dance room location on Main Street. In its eighth year of business, Zullo was able to secure a lease at the Watertown Mall in the location where the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) used to be.