Development

City Starting Detailed Designs for Watertown Square Intersection, Revitalization of Commercial Area

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The future of Watertown Square will be designed in 2026 with plans for major changes to the intersection as well as the commercial district in and around the Square. (Photo by City of Watertown)

More than a year after the zoning for Watertown Square was approved, City officials are preparing to begin the creation of two detailed plans to revitalize the Watertown Square commercial area, and to redesign the intersection. The project includes changes gto the roadway and intersection, as well as building on the parking lots in the Square. Discussions about the future of Watertown’s major intersection began in November 2023 with the multi-day design charrette, and continued through 2024 with the approval of the new zoning in July 2024, known as the Watertown Square Area Plan (click here to see the approved plan). During 2025, the work has been internal within the City’s Department of Community Development and Planning, in conjuction with consultants, to come up with a Revitalization Plan and designs for the new intersection in the Square, according to the City’s announcement about the implementation of the Watertown Square Area Plan.

Business

Watertown Remains a Bright Spot for Life Science, Chamber to Host Forum on the Industry

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Life science clusters in Watertown in 2025. The image appears in Watertown Bio’s 2025 Life Science Industry Report. The biotech industry, while slowed, still has some life in Watertown, according to a recently published study. The City boasts the third most life science firms of any community in Massachusetts, the fourth most venture capital investmentd, and 20 new firms came to town in 2025. The 2025 Watertown Life Science Industry Report was released by Watertown Bio founder Sam Ghilardi, and looks at the economic impact of life science firms, the profile of firms in town, the drug development pipeline, and real estate/life science space in Watertown.

Business

See the Highlights from the Charles River Chamber’s Forum on Housing, Real Estate

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The Charles River Regional Chamber recently hosted a forum looking at housing production in the area, and heard from a panel of experts, as well as State Sen. Will Brownsberger. See details in the announcement below. A new Boston Indicators report, authored by Newton’s own Amy Dain, found that the law has already helped generate nearly 7,000 housing units statewide. So far that includes 203 homes completed or in the pipeline thanks to MBTA-C in Needham; 193 homes in Watertown; 158 homes in Newton; but none to date in Wellesley, according to Dain’s report.  

(We believe the Watertown number of MBTA-C units is actually higher than Dain reported … Dain concludes that MBTA-C is the most effective state policy to boost housing production in years, writing that “construction is happening as a direct result.”

At the same time, she cautions that the law’s hallmark flexibility “leaves a lot of leeway for communities to embrace — or sidestep — the law’s housing goals.”but sadly not Wellesley’s.)

What’s next?

Business

Watertown Life Science Company to be Acquired by Eli Lilly

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Orna Therapeutics Logo

Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly will be acquiring a company in the East End of Watertown Arsenal, the two companies announced on Feb. 9. Orna Therapeutics is based at 500 Forge, a building near Home Depot that used to house Miller’s Ale House and offices into lab space. The following announcement was released Monday:

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) and Orna Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company dedicated to engineering immune cells in vivo, today announced entry into a definitive agreement for Lilly to acquire Orna. Orna is advancing a new class of therapeutics utilizing engineered circular RNA paired with novel lipid nanoparticles to allow the patient’s own body to generate cell therapies that can treat underlying disease.