Development

After Long Process, Watertown’s Comprehensive Plan Nears Completion

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The Town Council, and the Planning Board gathered with residents at the Watertown Middle School this week to put the final touches on the town’s long anticipated Comprehensive Plan. The Council and the Board presented the plan during a joint conference Wednesday, May 6. The comprehensive plan outlines the town’s goals through 2025, and is the town’s first since 1988, according to the town comprehensive plan website. The plan calls to “reinforce Watertown Square as a town center” transform Arsenal Corridor into a “dynamic mixed-use-corridor.”

The town original aimed to have the plan completed in 2013, but the process took longer than expected, Steve Magoon, Director of Planning and Development said. The Planning Board and the Town Council will vote on the proposed plan at upcoming meetings.

Design Guidelines

Planning Board OKs Design Standards, Debates Which Projects it Should Cover

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The Planning Board gave its endorsement to Watertown’s design standards and guidelines, but made some changes to what size residential projects the to apply the new rules for what can be built in town. Thursday evening, the Planning Board held the second public hearing on the design standards, and voted 3-0 to approve the new rules. Members of the town’s Planning Department made some changes to the original proposal which was discussed on March 31 (click here to see the new draft). One of the proposed changes was to a apply the rules to residential projects of 10 units or more. The original proposal called for applying the rules to projects of four units or more.

Development

Residents Invited to Learn About Proposed Eastside Hotel

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A community meeting will be held to give the latest update on the hotel proposed to go on Elm Street on the Eastside of Watertown. Elm Hospitality LLC will host the presentation and discussion of the revised project design for the new hotel proposed to be built at the former Atlantic Battery Site at 80 Elm St., Watertown. The meeting will he held on May 7, 2015 starting at 7 p.m. at the Coolidge School Apartments Function Room, 319 Arlington St. in Watertown. When developers made the first presentation for the hotel in January, they said it would have 102 rooms and would be an “upper, mid-range” hotel.

Development

2 Documents that Will Shape Watertown’s Future Will be Discussed Soon

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Two documents that will have a major impact on Watertown’s future will be discussed in public meetings. 

The Planning Board will hold a public hearing to continue discussion of the Design Guidelines & Standards. This document includes proposed changes to the Watertown Zoning Ordinance and will add new rules for major residential and commercial developments in town (find out more here). The meeting will be held on Thursday, April 30 at 7 p.m. in the Town Council Chamber. The Town Council and the Planning Board will get together for a public hearing on the Comprehensive Plan. This document sets out a vision for the town’s future in several categories, including land use, transportation, housing, economic development, open space, natural resources, historical and cultural resources, public services, and energy.

Development

Developer, School Collaborate to Make Grove Street Project Approvable

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The first time developers of the former GE Ionics Building on Grove Street came to the Planning Board they met loud opposition because the plan had hundreds of cars exiting onto a residential street, but they worked with their neighbor – the Atrium School – to come up with a solution. Wednesday night, Cresset Grove LLC presented a new plan that would have all cars from the 135,000 square foot office building come and and leave via Grove Street. The agreement became official just the night before the Planning Board meeting when the Atrium School School Committee approved the new plan, said Ed Nardi, president of the Cresset Group. The driveway for the Grove Street project was too narrow to allow cars to enter and exit, so they had to ask the school if they could share their driveway. Silvia Nerssessian, an Atrium parent and chair of the School Committee, said the school was pleased with the outcome, too.

Development

Most of Town Council Seeks Tweeks in New Pleasant Street Zoning

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The majority of Town Council liked most of the proposed changes to the Pleasant Street Corridor District zoning, but wanted time to think about some of the details. The lone councilor who wanted to pass the changes at Tuesday night’s special meeting was Westside Town Councilor Ken Woodland, whose district includes most of the Pleasant Street area. The area – most of Pleasant Street and side streets off that street – has uniform zoning created to encourage the redevelopment of unused and underused industrial buildings. The change was made in 2008, but the development that resulted has been almost all large residential complexes. The biggest change in the proposed new Pleasant Street Corridor District into three different zones:

PSCD-1 continues to allow the existing mixture of residential, retail, and/or industrial uses
PSCD-2 would allow a maximum of 25 percent of the square footage to be residential
PSCD-3 would allow only retail, commercial, and light industrial uses with no residential allowed

A large portion of the PSCD-3 zoning will be along the river in the southwest corner of the district.

Development

Armenian School Worried About Impact of Proposed Development

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The proposed Linx project has an address on Arsenal Street, but the redevelopment of the Verizon Building could impact residents and others in Coolidge Square, including the St. Stephen’s Armenian School. Last week, developers of the building, Boylston Properties, discussed the plans to turn the warehouse that serves as home to a fleet of Verizon trucks, into a 185,000 square foot space for companies that may in the past looked to be in Kendall Square in Cambridge. Details were first revealed during a meeting at the site in February (see details here). The 8.5-acre site will have a 37,000 square foot green space for employees to take breaks or work outside.

Development

Planning Board Gets Look at New Rules for Developments in Watertown

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After several months work, the Planning Board got to look at the new rules that could shape how future building projects will look in Watertown. The design standards will not just determine what is built inside the box that makes up a building, said Assistant Town Manager Steve Magoon, it will also impact how it influences surrounding areas and environments. The proposed design standards were presented to the Planning Board Tuesday by the consultant hired to come up with the alterations to the town’s zoning, David Gamble of Gamble Associates. “Planning works and this is what should be doing,” Gamble said. “You are ahead of the game compared to other towns not under development pressure.”
The Town Council requested the design standards after the town went through development booms on Pleasant and Arsenal streets.