Development

Planning Board Has Mixed Views on East Watertown Hotel Proposal

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A proposed hotel on Elm Street failed to get the support of a majority of the Planning Board, but the project will still move on to the Zoning Board for final approval. 
Thursday night the Planning Board heard the proposal for the 104-room hotel at 80 Elm St. – the former Atlantic Battery Company site right behind Target at the Watertown Mall. The hotel is being developed by Elm Hospitality LLC. Owner Cherag Patel said the hotel would not be full service – no restaurant open (just a breakfast area) and no meeting rooms. He could not say which franchise would run the hotel, but said it would be part of the Marriott, Hyatt or Hilton brands. The hotel has undergone some major changes since it was first brought forward at a community meeting in January.

Development

Planning Board Approves Major Apartment Complex on Arsenal Street

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The Planning Board unanimously approved a major apartment complex at the corner of Arsenal and Irving streets. The project has also served as a test case for Watertown’s design standards and guidelines. The complex, called Elan, is being developed by Greystar. It will stretch along Arsenal Street from Irving Street east to another new apartment complex, will have 282 apartments and more than 10,000 square feet of retail space. The retail will sit across a shared driveway from a planned market at the next door property – 202-204 Arsenal St.

Real Estate

Several Colonials and Two-Families Having Open Houses

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This week’s open houses include a town house that has an asking price of $1.499 million. There are plenty of others for those looking for homes in the six-figures, too. $649,999 – 87-89 Duff St., 2 unit, 10 total room, 6 total bedroom, Open House: Saturday 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

$434,500 – 34 Union St. Unit 1, 3 bed, 1 full 1 half bath 2 family, Open Houses: Saturday 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday 2-3 p.m.

$610,000 – 195 Chapman St., 4 bed, 1 full 2 half bath colonial, Open House: Sunday 12-2 p.m.

Story Sponsored by:

$659,000 – 41 Katherine Road, 3 bed, 2 bath colonial, Open House: Saturday 1-2 p.m.

$699,000 – 28 Forest St., 2 unit, 9 total room, 5 total bedroom 2 family, Open House: Saturday 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

$789,000 – 191 Edenfield Ave., 4 bed, 3 bath colonial, Open House: Sunday 12-2 p.m.

Development

LETTER: Developer Makes Case for a Hotel on Elm Street in Watertown

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There will be a Special Meeting of the Watertown Planning Board on Thursday, May 21, 2015, in the Town Council Chamber of Town Hall, 149 Main Street, Watertown, to hear a proposal to build a new business class five story hotel on the site formerly occupied by Atlantic Battery. The developer, Cherag Patel, from the Chicago area has owned and developed hotels for the past sixteen years. Mr. Patel said “We are excited about the opportunity to bring another marquis hotel to Watertown. We feel that Watertown’s location is superior to Cambridge and Waltham because Watertown has the unique ability to offer guests both an urban experience like Cambridge, and a suburban experience, like Waltham. Our market research firmly establishes that there is so much demand for hotel rooms from Watertown businesses such as Athena Health, Tufts Health, the Perkins School for the Blind, and the many other thriving businesses in Watertown, that a second hotel in Watertown will flourish.

Real Estate

Take a Look at the Five Homes That Sold This Week in Watertown

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Five Watertown homes sold this week. See information about the properties below. 

$420,000 – 112 Laurel St., 8 room, 5 bedroom, 1 full bathroom, Colonial single-family home

$720,000 – 222 Edenfield Ave. Unit 2, 7 room, 3 bedroom, 3 full & 1 half bathroom, Townhouse condo/townhouse

$599,900 – 125 Coolidge Ave Unit 204, 5 room, 2 bedroom, 2 full bathroom, Mid-Rise condo/townhouse

Story Sponsored by:

$633,000 – 109 Spring St. Unit 109, 9 room, 3 bedroom, 2 full & 1 half bathroom, Townhouse

$487,000 – 42 Rosedale Road, 7 room, 5 bedroom, 2 full & 1 half bathroom, Cape single-family home

Development

Changes Made to Hotel Proposal Do Not Satisfy Concerned Residents

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Despite a local developer’s efforts to redesign plans for a proposed hotel at 80 Elm Street, Town Councilor Angeline Kounelis and a group of East end residents said they still don’t want it in their neighborhood last week. “It does not belong on Elm Street,” Kounelis said. The residents and several Town Councilors gathered at he Apartments at Coolidge School’s Function Room on Arlington Street, May 7 for an option neighborhood meeting about the proposed five-story, 104-room hotel. Despite already meeting the required number of neighborhood meetings, developer Cherag Patel held the meeting to address concerns residents had previously expressed. The project is scheduled to by heard at a special planning board meeting on May 21.

Real Estate

Check Out the Dozens of Open Houses in Watertown This Weekend

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Home seekers have plenty of choices around Watertown this weekend. $589,000 – 68 Highland Ave., 4 bed, 2 bath ranch, Open House: Sunday 12-1:30 p.m.

$409,000 – 235 Palfrey St., 3 bed, 1 bath home, Open Houses: Saturday 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday 12-1:30 p.m.

$689,900 – 73 Everett Ave., 4 bed, 2 bath contemporary Open House: Friday 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

$334,900 – 120 Duff St. Unit 120, 2 bed, 1 bath townhouse, Open House: Sunday 12-1:30 p.m.

$850,000 – 40 Katherine Road, 5 bed, 1 full 2 half bath Gambrel/Dutch, Open Houses: Saturday 1:30-3 p.m. Sunday 1:30-3 p.m.

Story Sponsored by:

$749,900 – 13-15 Columbia St., 2 unit, 12 total room, 4 total bedroom 2 family, Open Houses: Friday 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday 12-1:30 p.m. Sunday 12-1:30 p.m.

$439,000 – 15 Beacon Park, 2 bed, 1 bath bungalow, Open Houses: Saturday 1-2 p.m. Sunday 12-1 p.m.

$635,000 – 195 Chapman St., 4 bed, 1 full 2 half bath colonial, Open Houses: Saturday 12-1 p.m. Sunday 12-2 p.m.

$750,000 – 87 Arlington St., 3 unit, 5 total room, 2 total bedroom 3 family, Open House: Sunday 2-3 p.m.

$815,000 – 456 Belmont St. Unit 24, 3 bed, 2 full 1 half bath townhouse, Open Houses: Saturday 12-2 p.m. Sunday 12-2 p.m.

$569,000 – 24 Edenfield Ave., 3 bed, 2 bath colonial, Open House: Sunday 1-2 p.m.

$789,000 – 191 Edenfield Ave., 4 bed, 3 bath colonial, Open House: Sunday 12-2 p.m.

$839,000 – 11-13 Lyons Court, 2 unit, 10 total room, 4 total bedroom, Open House: Saturday 12-1:30 p.m.

Business

New Tufts Health Plan Foundation President Has Ties to Obama Administration

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Tufts Health Plan today announced that Nora Moreno Cargie has been named president of the Tufts Health Plan Foundation. Moreno Cargie joined Tufts Health Plan one year ago as executive director of the Foundation and vice president of corporate citizenship. The Tufts Health Plan Foundation sent out the following announcement:

“Nora’s new designation is in recognition of her accomplishments this past year and her growing role within the organization,” said James Roosevelt Jr., Tufts Health Plan’s chief executive officer. “The Foundation board of directors is particularly proud of how Nora has advanced the Foundation beyond grantmaking toward meaningful engagement strategies that focus on convening communities, building systems and best practices, influencing policies and investing in collaborations that help move our communities – particularly the most vulnerable – toward achieving the World Health Organization’s goals for age-friendly communities.”

“The success of the Foundation’s recent Building Age-Friendly Communities summit, hosted in partnership with The Boston Foundation, is a prime example of the leadership Nora has shown in our communities,” added Thomas P. O’Neill, III, chairman of the Tufts Health Plan Foundation board of directors. “Our board looks forward to continued collaboration with Nora as we engage with community leaders in this important work.”

As president of the Tufts Health Plan Foundation, Moreno Cargie will be responsible for leading the Foundation’s work in healthy living with an emphasis on older adults.