Arsenal Yards

Hearing on Amendment for More Height at Arsenal Yards, RMUD Postponed

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The Watertown Department of Community Development and Planning sent out notice of the postponement of the proposed amendment to allow additional height in the Regional Mixed Use District. The amendment was submitted by Boylston Properties, the developer of Arsenal Yards. The following is the announcement from the Town:

The RMUD Zoning Amendment for height will not be heard at the Planning Board meeting on August 8.  The petitioner has requested that the request be continued until September 12, 2018 Planning Board Hearing.  Please spread the word that the request will not be discussed at the August meeting. Read more here:

Opinions Split Over Taller Tower Request by Developers of Arsenal Yards

Around Town

‘Equalizer 2’ Actor Also Appearing on Watertown Cable Show

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Watertown Cable host Fred Grandinetti has an eye for talent. He has had some actors who have gone on to the big screen to be guests on his show, Drawing With Fred. Grandinetti announced that award winning actor, Kazy Tauginas — who can be seen in the new movie Equalizer 2  — will appear on Drawing With Fred which airs on The Watertown Channel. Tauginas, a professional boxer, spars with a partner and quickly swallows a can of spinach to introduce a Popeye cartoon. Taugnias stars, and wrote the screenplay, for the award winning film Standing Eight.

Real Estate

Many Open Houses Around Watertown to Visit This Week

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Dozens of open houses around town to choose from this weekend. $949,900 – 50-52 Chapman St. Unit 52, 10 room, 5 bed, 3 bath townhouse, Open Houses: Friday 1-2 Saturday 12-1:30 Sunday 12-1:30

$899,900 – 50-52 Chapman Street Unit 50, 9 room, 4 bed, 3 bath 2/3 family, Open Houses: Friday 1-2 Saturday 12-1:30 Sunday 12-1:30

$559,000 – 26 Wilmot St., 7 room, 2 bed, 1.5 bath other, Open Houses: Saturday 12-1:30 Sunday 12-1:30

$539,000 – 97 Poplar Unit 97, 8 room, 3 bed, 1 bath 2/3 family, Open Houses: Saturday 12-2 Sunday 12-2

$849,000 – 199 Coolidge Ave. Unit 105, 5 room, 2 bed, 2.5 bath high-rise, Open Houses: Saturday 11-1 Sunday 11-1

$725,000 – 125 Coolidge Ave. Unit 501, 6 room, 2 bed, 2.5 bath high-rise, Open Houses: Friday 12-1 Saturday 2-3:30 Sunday 2-3:30

$479,999 – 227 Coolidge Ave.

Bicycles

Designers Add More Options for Redesigning Watertown Square After Traffic Counts

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After taking traffic counts in the area around Watertown Square and along Charles River Road an North Beacon Street, the designers of the Watertown Square Improvement project added more options for how the intersection could be changed. On July 9, the Town of Watertown held an open house to present the latest options for reconfiguring Watertown Square. The last time the project was presented to the public, in November 2017, many residents — particularly those living between Charles River Road and North Beacon Street — opposed the idea of removing Charles River Road from the Watertown Square intersection. Representatives from the Town’s consultant on the project, VHB, said traffic counts would be done before coming back with recommendations for the project. “Based on the traffic counts, rather than reduce the options, we added more,” said Dennis Sheehan, the DPW’s Director of Administration and Finance. “If one solution would have clearly worked best we would have presented less options.”

Development

LETTER: Resident Writes in Favor of Taller Building at Arsenal Yards

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Editor:
We read Jon Bockian’s letter in the Watertown News and want to take exception to several of his comments as he doesn’t speak for ALL Watertown residents. First and foremost, the proposed changes Boylston Properties is making to the Building G plan are very beneficial to the overall development, increasing open space and providing better access to the Park.  
Mr. Bockian further states that one option Boylston has is to reduce the footprint and keep the height at 130 feet. He knows that this is impossible as Boylston was very clear that reducing the footprint in exchange for height needs to be done for economic reasons, they need to build 188,000 SF. Mr. Bockian also avoids speaking in terms of affordable housing, which would be severely impacted by the overall reduction in SF and thus unit count. Losing affordable units should not be an option.

Sports

Watertown’s Field Hockey Success Continues at Bay State Games

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Watertown field hockey players continued their success over the summer at the Bay State Games, held over the weekend. 

The Raiders had players on the Gold Medal winning Metro/Northeast field hockey team, and Watertown won the High School Division 6v6 tournament at the Bay State Games. Watertown’s Catherine Connors, Ally Kennedy, Aurise Tattrie, and Ashley Shaughnessy played for the Metro/Northeast team. Over the three days of the tournament, Kennedy scored five goals and had two assists (including one in the 3-2 win over Coastal in the Gold Medal game), Connors had a goal and Tattrie had an assist. The members of the Watertown’s Bay State Games 6v6 Gold Medal winning team were: Connors, Tattrie, Kennedy, Gabby Venezia, Olivia Lampasona, Emily Campbell, Shannon Hughes and Elaine Andrade.

Entertainment

‘Mapplethorpe’ Movie, Produced by Eliza & Nate Dushku, Picked up by Studio

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The biopic on controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe being produced, in part, by Watertown’s Eliza and Nate Dushku has been picked up by a studio and will be released later this year. 

The North American rights to “Mapplethorpe” has been secured by Samuel Goldwyn Films, according to a report in Variety. The movie stars Matt Smith, known for his roles on “Dr. Who” and Netflix’s “The Crown,” and it is directed by Odi Timoner. Timoner is also a producer, along with Richard J. Bosner. Samuel Goldwyn Films seeks to release the movie in the fall, according to Deadline Hollywood. The film premiered  at the Tribeca Film Festival in April.