Around Town

See Winners of the Watertown Savings Bank High School Photo Contest

By |

A dozen high school students from high schools in and around Watertown were selected as winners in the Watertown Savings Bank 2014 High School Photo Contest. The winners were honored at an awards night held in June at the Watertown Free Public Library. The 12 winning photos will make up the 2015 Watertown Savings Bank calendar. “The Bank received 105 terrific submissions from high school students; it truly was a task to narrow it down to just 12,” according to the announcement from the bank. The winners were: First Place Winner Chris Owens, Belmont High School; Second Place Winner Jay Sullivan, The Arlington School, Belmont; Third Place Winner Paulina Romero, Newton North Hight School; Katie Goodwin, Lexington High School; Jen Mitchell, Lexington High School; Nicole Acero, Waltham High School; Emma Taylor, Belmont High School;  Aaron Schwartz, Newton North High School; Betsey Donham, Arlington High School; Bimini Horstmann, Newton South High School; Mackey Howe, Newton North High School; and Liam Shanny, Newton South High School.

Around Town

These Watertown Homes Sold in This Week

By |

See which homes around Watertown have sold, and how much they went for. $614,500 – 233 Warren Street, 6 bedroom, 3 bathroom, Colonial single-family home

$550,000 – 8-10 Myrtle, 2 unit, 4 total bedroom, 2 Family, Side by Side multi-family home

$370,000 – 88 Belmont Street Unit 88, 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 2 Family condo

Sponsored by:

$736,000 – 19-21 Bates Road, 2 unit, 6 total bedroom, 2 Family home

$413,000 – 3 Repton Unit 3315, 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, Mid-Rise condo

$295,000 – 327 Arlington St. Unit 3, 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 3 Family condo

Around Town

Four Tufts Health Plan Employees Named YMCA Achievers

By |

Four Tufts Health Plan employees were honored by the YMCA for their outstanding performance in the workplace and dedication to their communities. Maria-Cecilia Coloma, Kerri O’Connor, Pamela Mobley and Tanisha Nesmith have been selected as a YMCA Achievers for 2014. YMCA Achievers were recognized at an annual gala held at the Westin Copley in Boston on May 13. “Tufts Health Plan extends our sincere congratulations to the 2014 Y Achievers who will complete a year of service mentoring and supporting young men and women as they strive to create greater opportunities for themselves,” said Lydia Greene, Tufts Health Plan’s vice president of human resources and diversity and member of the YMCA Achievers board of commissioners. “The YMCA Achiever program provides educational enrichment and career awareness activities for Greater Boston youth. “Many of these youth are left to navigate the college process by themselves and these Tufts Health Plan employees, along with many others, will help to prepare these young men and women for college and a career.

Development

Arsenal Street Hotel Gets Final Approval from Zoning Board

By |

Watertown will be getting a six-story hotel on Arsenal Street after the Zoning Board of Appeals approved the project Wednesday night. The 148-room hotel will be a Residence Inn by Marriott, said Bill McQuillan, the principal of developer Boylston Properties. Rooms in the hotel, which is aimed at business travelers, will cost about $175 a night, but prices fluctuate higher or lower depending on demand, McQuillan said. A number of Town Councilors applauded the project. “Some of us, including myself,  have been anxiously looking to bring a hotel to the Watertown community for the number of benefits it could bring,” said Town Council President Mark Sideris.

Development

Sideris Calls for All Developers in Town to Come Talk About Their Plans

By |

Town Council President Mark Sideris wants to get developers of all projects planned for Watertown to come and tell residents what they have planned for their property. Tuesday night the Town Council declined to approve a moratorium on developments on Arsenal Street, but decided to fast-track creating design standards and design guidelines for all developments in town. Sideris said he ran the idea past Director of Community Development and Planning Steve Magoon, who advised against having a developer summit. “I am not going to listen to him,” Sideris said. “All people with projects in the East End, the West End and the rest of town will come and talk about what they want to bring forward.

Development

Town Council Rejects Moratorium, Will Fast Track New Design Guidelines

By |

The proposed moratorium that would have temporarily halted development on Arsenal Street was rejected by the Town Council Tuesday night, but instead voted to quickly develop guidelines and standards for how projects can be built across town. A group of residents petitioned the Council to put in the moratorium, and Tuesday’s special Town Council meeting was scheduled to address the issue. Community Development and Planning Director Steve Magoon advised the Council that a moratorium would send the wrong message to developers. “It can send the message we are a community closed for business and not a place to invest in,” Magoon said. In addition, the moratorium can take time to go into effect.

Real Estate

These Homes Sold This Week in Watertown

By |

A number of homes sold in Watertown this week. See where they were and how much they sold for. $800,000 – 16 – 18 Saint Marys St., 2 unit, 4 total bedroom

$602,000 – 41-43 Carroll St., 2 unit, 4 total bedroom 2 family

$565,000 – 14-16 Washburn St. Unit 14, 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom townhouse

$950,000 – 213 Palfrey Street, 4 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom contemporary

$301,000 – 308 Lexington Street Unit 308, 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom townhouse

Development

Council, Planning Board Worry Comprehensive Plan is Too Specific

By |

As they started to delve into the draft of the 200-plus pages of the Watertown Comprehensive Plan, members of the Planning Board and Town Council said some of it has too many details that could lock the town into something that does not make sense. The group, made up of the Planning Board and the Council’s Economic Development and Planning subcommittee, looked at the vision statement and the Land Use portion of the plan on July 14. Some of the things that worried them was that some of the goals had specific numbers for how to change zoning or building requirements. Planning Board Chairman John Hawes said he is not comfortable the statement in the Arsenal Street Corridor section saying that residential projects with frontages right on the street should be allowed, as well as the statement that the setback should be reduced from the current 25 feet. “I think that needs more discussion,” Hawes said.