Real Estate

See All This Weekend’s Open Houses Around Watertown

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Watertown homebuyers have plenty of options of properties to visit this weekend. $629,000 – 688 Belmont St. Unit 688, 6 room, 3 bed, 2.5 bath townhouse, Open Houses: Saturday 12-1:30 Sunday 12-1:30

$514,900 – 26 Dewey St. Unit 26, 6 room, 2 bed, 1 bath 2/3 family, Open Houses: Friday 5-6 Saturday 1-2:30 Sunday 1-2:30

$375,000 – 71 Jensen Road Unit 71, 4 room, 2 bed, 1 bath 2/3 family, Open Houses: Saturday 12-1:30 Sunday 12-1:30

$799,000 – 199 Coolidge Ave. Unit 106, 5 room, 2 bed, 2 bath mid-rise, Open House: Sunday 1-2:30

$849,000 – 303 A & B Mt.

Business

Watertown Resident Opens FireCycle Spin Studio in Waltham

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A Watertown resident recently opened a new spin studio in Waltham called FireCycle. The following announcement was provided by Fire Cycle:

Last week, Watertown resident Lera Navickas, opened the doors of FireCycle Studio, a boutique spin studio located in neighboring Waltham. “The studio is beautiful, the staff members are friendly and the class was fun and motivating,” says a class attendee, “I can’t wait to go back!” At FireCycle studio, class attendees are greeted with complimentary towels (which you’ll need after a class in “the inferno,” what FireCycle calls their spin room.) The studio also has amenities like free locker storage, shower facilities, and spin shoe rentals. FireCycle offers two different classes — FireCycle and FireBeats.

Real Estate

Half a Dozen Watertown Homes Sold This Week

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Here are the six homes that sold this week in Watertown. $430,000 – 10 Williams St. Unit 25, 4 room, 2 bedroom, 1 full bathroom, Mid-Rise condo/townhouse

$670,000 – 40 Commonwealth Road Unit 1, 7 room, 3 bedroom, 1 full bathroom, 2/3 Family condo/townhouse

$870,000 – 129 Arsenal St., 3 unit, 13 total room, 5 total bedroom, 3 Family multi-family home

Sponsored by:

$650,080 – 64 Union St., 6 room, 3 bedroom, 1 full & 1 half bathroom, Gambrel /Dutch single-family home

$391,000 – 20 Riverside St. Unit 3-8, 4 room, 2 bedroom, 1 full bathroom, condo/townhouse

$475,000 – 10 Williams St. Unit 89, 5 room, 2 bedroom, 1 full bathroom, High-Rise condo/townhouse

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

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.

Arsenal Yards

LETTER: Arsenal Yards Developer’s Amendment for More Height Not Opportunistic

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Editor:

I am writing in response to Mr. Bockian’s open letter regarding the proposed zoning amendment at Arsenal Yards. I agree with Mr. Bockian that maintaining the integrity of Watertown’s Planning Board is extremely important. However, I don’t believe that BP’s [Boylston Properties] proposed zoning amendment constitutes a threat to local governance, and nor do I believe that the proposed increase in height constitutes a threat to the Watertown community. 

Mr. Bockian writes that the zoning debate has been “reopened quickly and opportunistically.” In fact, the RMUD zoning has been in place for over two years, and when it was initially approved BP stated publicly that they had accepted the zoning as a compromise and planned to reconsider it further along the line. Legislators across our nation use this tactic to make timely progress on issues while looking ahead to future achievements. For instance, Massachusetts legalized “civil union” partnerships as a compromise before finally legalizing gay marriage a few years later.

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.

Development

LETTER: Planning Board, Town Council Should Reject Amendment to Allow Taller Buildings

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Editor:
I can understand that a Planning Board or Town Council member might be tempted to say, there’s no harm in approving Boylston Properties’ (BP) proposed zoning amendment which would allow BP and other developers to ask for one or more 197-foot buildings. The officials might say, approving the height amendment doesn’t approve any specific building, we can decide about a specific building at a later time, when we see plans, etc. I disagree there is no good reason to amend the zoning, on the contrary there are good reasons to reject their proposal, and there is harm in changing the ordinance. At BP’s request, the Town changed its zoning two years ago to meet almost all of BP’s needs at Arsenal Yards except BP’s proposal that there be no limit how tall a building the Planning Board could approve. After lengthy and at times heated debate a compromise was reached to allow 130 feet, taller than is allowed in any other part of town.