Business

Owner of Arsenal Project Buys Another Property in Area

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Boylston Properties, one of the owners of the Arsenal Project, has purchased property down the street from the mall. The group has agreed to purchase a 10-acre parcel at 480 Arsenal St., according to a report on Banker & Tradesman. It is currently used by biotech company 480 Biomedical, but it could be rezoned for residential use, Boylston Properties President William McQuillan told Banker & Tradesman. Along with the mall, the group has purchased the former Charles River Saab dealership and has plans to build a six-story Residence Inn by Marriott hotel in that location. (See details here).

Business

Watertown Belmont Chamber Hosting Business Breakfast Round Table

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The Watertown Belmont Chamber of Commerce will will host an event at Eastern Bank in Watertown about loan programs to grow your business. The speaker at the Business Breakfast Round Table will be Charles Smith of Eastern Bank. He will talk about the SBA Loan Program which provides entrepreneurs with access to capital, including the 7a and 504 programs.

Bring your business cards so you can network, too. The event is on Wednesday, May 28, 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. at Eastern Bank, 1 Church St. in Watertown.

Business

Watertown Nutrition Outlet Offers Supplements at Affordable Prices

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For just over a year, the AMP Nutrition Outlet has been selling health and sports supplements on Arsenal Street. 

The store opened in the space where another supplement section of the UFood Grill that closed. The store offers sports drinks, energy bars, protein and vitamin powders and more, said Store Manager and Watertown resident Connor Grimes. “We are a lot cheaper (than the nutrition chains) and much more knowledgable,” Grimes said. “We order everything in the store and I don’t sell things that I wouldn’t use.” The store is just down the street from a few gyms and one of Watertown’s biggest employers.

Development

Council Shooting to Approve Comprehensive Plan by Fall

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The Comprehensive Plan – the major planning document that will shape Watertown’s future – will likely be approved this fall. 

The Town C0uncil’s Economic Development and Planning Committee discussed how they want to unveil the latest draft and collect input from town officials, town residents and others this week. The whole process will likely stretch into the fall. The Comprehensive Plan not only covers zoning rules and development, it also has recommendations for public transportation, bicycle and pedestrian issues, parks, and open space. Councilor Susan Falkoff did not like the idea of having the draft go to town department heads before the general public got to see it. The subcommittee agreed that the document should be published online so all can take a look.

Development

Changes Pleasant Street Area Zoning Moving Along

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Efforts to prevent more large housing project coming into the Pleasant Street areas moved a step closer Monday night. The Economic Development and Planning subcommittee voted to have the proposed changes go to the Town Council during the May 27 meeting, which would essentially put the new zoning into effect at that point. The Town Council seeks to draw development that includes retail, office and some light industrial in the West End of town. Three types of zoning will be created in the Pleasant Street Corridor – one where at least 25 percent of projects is commercial; a second where no retail is allowed – only retail, commercial and light industrial; and one where anything fitting the Pleasant Street Corridor rules can be built.

Councilors also want to prevent “canyon-ization” when multi-story building are built close to the street. To prevent this, buildings will have to be “stepped back” –  so floors above the second must be pushed 15 feet back from the front facade, and floors above the sixth must be pushed back 25 feet from the front facade.

Business

Watertown Handyman Tackles Jobs Big and Small

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For more than two decades, Watertown’s Mike Vick has been working on home improvement projects, from small repairs and upgrades to remodeling a bathroom or installing a deck. Vick runs MNM Handyman Services, and has been working in Watertown for a dozen years. He works with a licensed electrician and a licensed plumber, so Vick is confident about getting the job done. “If I can’t do it personally, I can have someone come by to do it,” Vick said. Recently MNM Handyman Services did some work at Alainn hair salon on Louise Street.

Business

New ‘Vape’ Store Opens in Watertown

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Users of e-cigarettes now have a local spot to get the equipment and supplies. 

New England Vaping Company opened at 100 Main St. in Watertown in mid-April. The small storefront has a about 60 flavors from three suppliers to use with e-cigarettes, said Heleen Venter, who co-owns the store with her husband Jamie Richard. “Some people come in with very particular tastes and others come in and try them all,” Venter said. While e-liquids are easy to find on the internet, Venter said that people get more information coming into the store.

Business

Kids with Cancer Join Navy SEALs in Event at Watertown Gym

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Children with cancer got some special motivation from a group of Navy SEALs recently at a Watertown rock climbing gym. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute brought the patients together with some of the United States military’s most elite troop in Watertown recently. WBUR reported on the event, where a SEAL who lost his legs in Afghanistan taught a 10-year-old cancer patient to climb the walls at Central Rock Gym. (click here to see the article). The gym at 74 Acton St.