Government

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

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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.”

Police/Fire

Police Log: Bust Recovers Over 100 Baggies of Drugs, Man Caught After Breaking Into Home & Car

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests

July 25, 11:48 a.m.: Detectives from the Suburban Middlesex County Drug Task Force observed a man making a drug sale on Brookline Street. The man had been under investigation for a month. After the sale, police pulled the suspect’s vehicle over. They immediately noticed two tied off corner plastic bags with a white rock substance inside the vehicle.

Entertainment

See Which Bands Will Play at the Watertown Arts Market

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The third annual Watertown Arts Market is just two weeks away, and there will be many vendors, businesses, and musical acts throughout the day. The Arts Market will be held on Saturday, Aug. 19, from 12-5 p.m. at Filippello Park (Grove Street entrance). It is free to attend and vendors will be selling art, food, drinks, and other items.

Music at the 2023 Watertown Arts Market

12 p.m.: Boston Jazz Voices

1 p.m.: Willow Flute Ensemble

2 p.m.: School of Rock

3 p.m.: 90 Mile Portage

4 p.m.: Lucretia’s Daggers

About the Watertown Arts Market

The Watertown Arts Market is a family-friendly outdoor event with a diverse selection of artists, authors, creatives, musicians, performers, arts and cultural organizations, and businesses. Each artist and organization will host a table or perform at the event.

Around Town

2 Historic Events Remembered, Including Signing of Treaty of Watertown

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Marilynne Roach of the Historical Society of Watertown made a presentation about the signing of the Treaty of Watertown and the reading of the Declaration of Independence at the Edmund Fowle House. (Courtesy of the Historical Society)

On July 18, two major events in the history of Watertown and the United States was celebrated by the Historical Society of Watertown at the Senior Center. The events took place in 1776, at the Edmund Fowle House, which now sits across the street from the Senior Center. The home was the seat of the Massachusetts Government after the British took over Boston during the Revolutionary War. It also was the location of the signing of the Treaty of Watertown, the first treaty signed by the recently independent United States with a foreign power – the Mi’kmaq and St.

Around Town

Watertown Man Planning to Ferry People to and from Boston on Charles River

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A rendering of the what the boat to be used by Wada Hoppah to ferry passengers from Watertown to Boston on the Charles River (Courtesy of Wada Hoppah)

A local man wants to put the “water” back into Watertown when it comes to public transportation. If everything comes together, Drew Rollert’s company Wada Hoppah will be ferrying passengers from Watertown to Beacon Hill, with stops along the way, beginning this fall. Cities such as Venice, Amsterdam, and London are known for using their rivers and canals for transportation, and Rollert believes Boston should join them. He is confident that people would like an alternative to sitting in traffic jams, or riding the MBTA’s buses or trains. The Watertown resident remembers the moment that the idea of river transportation came to him.