There is a VERY IMPORTANT meeting of the Planning Board tonight, May 8, at 7 p.m. regarding the 10-30 Manley Way proposed development. This is the site of the former Launch Trampoline Park and the Boston Rhythmic Dance Studio, which has been vacant for some time.
There was a community meeting on September 5, 2023 that almost never happened. It was found out that our city rules needed to be amended so that a conversion of a 95,000 building required a community meeting for any type of change in such a building, not in just a newly planned one.
About 70 plus residents attended this meeting via Zoom and the myriad of questions raised was quite impressive. Any change of use in an area that abuts residential units, Repton Place and The Mews, is particularly of interest to those residents. Plus there are other businesses in the area that could be affected depending on what type of business would be allowed or take residence in this 95,000 square foot existing building.
We all know that any new development creates traffic and parking issues, and as of yet the Russo’s lab site has not gone forward. We don’t know what traffic will be generated at either of these sites at this point.
There are many other issues that were raised at the community meeting and we were left with many unanswered questions. There were many meetings scheduled before the Planning Board that were postponed by request of the developer of this site. At seven months past the initial meeting, the meeting tomorrow night hopefully will provide those answers and give us a sense of what type of use this building will have.
The developer mentioned at the September 5 meeting that they were open to any number of possible uses from, life science/labs, light industrial, robotics, green tech, R&D, and advanced manufacturing. Each of these uses would create different scenarios of how the building and its surroundings would change.
Over the seven months Watertown has approved the process of starting to make Walker Pond a very desirable green space. At a price tag of $11 Million to acquire this property, this is a precious gem of land left in our city to make available to everyone to enjoy. It will take a few years to do testing and evaluating the area and develop an actual plan to make it a very special place for all of us.
With the 10-30 Manley Way development directly adjacent to the Pond, there are serious concerns that whatever is put into place for this business take into consideration the natural life existing there, the trees currently there, the noise that could affect wildlife and the residential abutters in Repton Place and The Mews, many environmental factors and noise levels.
As there are already two labs that will be on Pleasant St. near this property, many residents expressed interest in having other types of businesses be considered by the developer. It was also stressed by many that access to the Pond from Pleasant St. be part of the plans and the developer is showing outlines of that access.
In order to make this the best repurposing plan for the owners and the community, we need to have a great turnout at this meeting TONIGHT. Below is the link to get the details to participate in the meeting.
The Planning Board will discuss the proposed project at 10-30 Manley Way to repurpose an existing structure into lab/R&D/non-nuisance manufacturing use. Wednesday, May 8, 7 p.m. City Hall and remote. See more information here.
Included below is the video recording of the meeting last September for your review of the discussions and plans.
Community Meeting: 10-30 Manley Way – September 5, 2023
Listed below are two links to articles published in Watertown News relating to this development for your review prior to the meeting tonight, May 8.
Your participation in this meeting is IMPORTANT. We all need to know what the plans are, if the developer has responded to all the requests and questions raised at the September meeting, and what, if any, additional issues need to be addressed prior to the Planning Board giving their approval for this special permit.
In looking at the plans it appears that they have made some positive changes since the initial meeting, but if you want to provide input, it’s now or never!
Joan Gumbleton
Watertown Resident
This is in the middle of nowhere, likepracticlaly in Waltham. What else would they put there. It’s so tucked away no on would know it existed. So first no houses. Now no jobs. This woould be an improvemetn to leave it as is would be a big mistake. The area is so dumpy there . Like I don’t see a problemen with it.
You missed the point. The people who attended the September meeting didn’t want to stop any development; they wanted to be sure that environmental and access issues were addressed in addition to the concerns about the truck turnarounds in the back section adjacent to Walker Pond.
If you watched the meeting you would have seen the presentation and might have understood what changes the developer made in response to residents’ concerns. Participation in the community meeting made it a better project for all.