Arsenal Street

Council Backs $25 Million in Improvements, Some Question Openness of Process

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After a marathon session, the Town Council unanimously approved a partnership with Athenahealth and the DCR that will bring $25 million in public infrastructure projects to the area in East Watertown around the company’s campus. The funds to pay for 10 proposed projects come from the state via the I-Cubed program, which creates partnerships between public entities (the Town and the Department of Conservation and Recreation) and a private one (Athenahealth). The money comes from additional taxes created by Athena adding more jobs through its campus expansion, and will be used to pay for bonds issued by the state. The projects must be completed within 3 years of the issuance of the bonds. While many residents and some on the Council said the Town would be crazy to pass up $25 million in free projects (or at least that won’t use Watertown residents’s tax dollars) others complained that the list of projects came forward with little public discussion about what made the list.

Real Estate

A Small Selection of Open Houses Over the July 4 Weekend

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There are five open houses scheduled for the July 4 Weekend. $549,900 – 210 Palfrey St. 6 room, 3 bed, 1 bath ranch, Open Houses: Saturday 12-1:30 Sunday 12-1:30

$549,900 – 52 Edward Road, 7 room, 3 bed, 1 bath cape, Open Houses: Saturday 12-1 Sunday 12-1

$689,000 – 16 Commonwealth Road Unit 16, 10 room, 5 bed, 2 bath townhouse, Open House: Sunday 1-2:30

Sponsored by:

$614,900 – 478-480 Main St. Unit 478, 9 room, 4 bed, 2 bath townhouse, Open Houses: Saturday 2-3 Sunday 1-2

$675,000 – 149 Hillside Road Unit 2, 10 room, 5 bed, 2.5 bath 2/3 family, Open House: Sunday 11:30-1

Business

Intelligentsia Coffee Seeks to Serve the Best Coffee in the World in Watertown

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The founders of Watertown’s newest cafe started their business with the goal of selling the best cup of coffee in the world, and to do so they fanned out across the globe to find growers and helped them produce the finest beans. Intelligentsia Coffee will be opening in the next couple weeks on Mt. Auburn Street, across from Greg’s Restaurant, but the Chicago-based held a sneak preview on Wednesday evening. It will be the chain’s first cafe in the Boston area, which is only the fourth city after Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. The company’s roasting facilities are in Chicago, L.A. and San Francisco.

Government

Price of Extra Recycling Toters Reduced in New Trash/Recycling Contract

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Advocates of recycling got good news Tuesday night when the Town Council approved the new trash and recycling removal contract – toters 50 percent off. Residents in Watertown get one green recycling toter, which is collected every two weeks. For some this is not enough and the bin overflows. When Republic Services came to present the new contract at the June 14 Town Council meeting a number of Councilors said they hoped the price of an additional toter could be reduced from the $180 charged in the contract that ends June 30, 2017. Tuesday night, Town Manager Michael Driscoll announced that in the time since the last meeting Town officials negotiated a new price for the additional recycling toters with Republic Services.

Business

Watertown Company Applying for Approval for Treatment for Blindness

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Watertown-based company pSivida is working on a treatment for blindness and has applied for approval in Europe. 

The Boston Business Journal reports that pSivida has submitted an application for Durasert inthe European Union, and the company expects to submit an application to the FDA for approval in the United States later in 2017. The treatment combines a drug and a device that treats an inflammatory disease that can lead to vision loss or blindness. The device is injected and deliver the medicine for up to three years. The company is located in the Riverworks complex on Pleasant Street, in the former Aetna Mills building.

Around Town

Bring Your Own Bag Ordinance Starts Soon, See How to Get Your Free Bag

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On Saturday, July 1, 2017, Watertown’s Bring Your Own Bag Ordinance will take effect, meaning that single-use plastic bags will no longer be given out by stores. The group that originally proposed the new rules will provide free bags to residents and has spread the word about the new ordinance. The ordinance first came to the Town Council from the ReThink Plastic citizen’s group more than four years ago. The Council’s Rules & Ordinances subcommittee worked with members of ReThink Plastic to draft the ordinance that was ultimately approved by the Town Council in June 2016. “The Bring Your Own Bag Ordinance will help make Watertown a healthier place to live and will help reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in the Charles River and in our trees and parks,” said ReThink Plastic member Eileen Ryan.

Arts

Local Band Opens Watertown Concert Series with Family Concert

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The first Watertown Summer Concert features an award winning band for children and adults. 

The Jamberries with Watertown-based musician Ethan Rossiterwill, play on Thursday, June 29 at 6:30 p.m. at Saltonstall Park (next to Town Hall), with a rain location of the Watertown Free Public Library. The concert is free and open to the public. The band is made up of four local dads and has won a Parent Choice Award Winner. They play toe-tapping, family fun music that blends funk, pop, rock, and a flavor of country. “Their shows are filled catchy songs, killer trombone lines, and of course, dancing kids and parents!,” according to the Jamberries website.

385 Pleasant Street

Loss of Trees, Traffic Impact of Pleasant Street Project Worry Residents

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Residents living near a proposed mixed use project on Pleasant Street were upset about the prospect of removing a long berm and the trees on top of it. Traffic and the position of the driveways also concerned residents at Monday night’s Community Meeting at the Watertown Police Station. The developers, Amstel Heritage Watertown LLC, want to turn what is now a parking lot and the former Fields Company building into townhouses, condos and commercial office space. The lot is long and thin – more than 1,000 feet long and as narrow as 55 feet – and the back of the site includes the berm where railroad tracks used to run. The project includes 58 units, including 3 studios, 5 one-bedrooms, 14 one-bedroom lofts and 36 two bedrooms. The housing includes 30 townhouses in three 3-story buildings on the east side, 14 units in the existing brick building and another 14 units in a five story building west of the brick building.