Watertown’s Community Preservation Committee will see the presentations for an affordable housing redevelopment project at Willow Park, and rehabilitation of the Commander’s Mansion. See information from the City of Watertown, below.
The Community Preservation Committee (CPC) is evaluating project applications and requests for Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding and applicants are presenting their projects to the Committee in the areas of historic preservation and community housing.
View the Willow Park Redevelopment request for additional funds and the original application.
View the Commander’s Mansion Building Envelope Rehabilitation and Elevation Modernization project application.
Join the presentations on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, at 7 p.m. in person at City Hall, 149 Main St., in the Lower Hearing Room or via Zoom.
Willow Park is asking for an additional $2 million on top of $4 million already allocated by the CPC. That $6 million dwarfs all other recent CPC funding combined. As I understand it, the CPC may direct as much as 65% of its annual funding to any one of its four sectors of responsibility—in this case, community housing. I can’t find on the CPC website how much money it intends to appropriate this year, but Willow Park‘s $2 million is likely to be a big chunk of that amount. Is this “good money after bad”? Or even better money after good? Residents will have their say, but either way, $6 million is a very significant sum to put toward only one project in only one sector. Housing advocates should be very grateful for the CPC’s largesse, and I would expect a serious rebalancing of appropriations in the years ahead to its neglected sectors of responsibility: open space, recreation, and historic preservation—not least the Commander’s Mansion, which needs annual allocations for repairs and ADA compliance. Funding housing at below market rates is a pricey undertaking. Take it easy.
Linda, I hope you are reading this.
Its exactly what I said was going to happen. POAH is overly leveraged with debt on the Willow Park project and now to service that debt they are asking Watertown tax payers to foot the bill. (even more so than they already where with the $4m we gave them)
And they want $1m to go to pre development costs so they can spend it right away. 100% this will not be the last time they come to the CPC for more money, they want to get as much town money sunk in as soon as possible so it would become more and more painful for the town to back out. I hope the councilors carefully consider what is going on here before committing anymore money to this project.
Would it be possible for the CPC to hold an annual educational forum at the library for the public? I have read this law two or three times, and I forget all the aspects. This would be most welcome since many who know the area see what needs assistance. Many in C see the North Branch Library as an opportunity for so many things. Maybe that is a bad example and doesn’t qualify or there are plans underway. But it would benefit the public to know how they can work with a developer to apply for CPC money to restore a building like the North Branch Library or fund something public like a splashpad, if allowed. A 101 to How the CPC Law Works could increase the number of applications because few applications often indicate lack of knowledge.