Business

Watertown Safari Company Embroiled in Controversy

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Watertown-based Thomson Safaris has been accused of illegally taking land in Tanzania and mistreating locals, but the company maintains the accusations are all fictional. Thomson Safaris faces charges in Tanzanian courts that the company is accused of  driving the Maasai people off their land in order to buy it, according to a report in the Boston Globe. The more than 12,000 acres is used to take visitors on safari. While the company was ordered by the U.S. Federal Court to turn over information on the land acquisition, the owners – Rick Thomson and Judi Wineland of Watertown – said the charges are false and were brought by another group in Tanzania that wanted to buy the land. Read the entire Boston Globe report by clicking here.

Business

Details Announced About New Hotel in Watertown

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The new hotel proposed for Arsenal Street in Watertown will be run by Marriott and will be six stories tall and have nearly 150 rooms, developers announced Thursday night. The hotel would be an extended stay hotel, and cater to businesses in and around Watertown, said Bill McQuillan, principle of Boylston Properties, the developer of the hotel and new owner of the Arsenal Mall – now known as the Arsenal Project. The hotel would be replace the former Saab dealership. “We expect to draw from three to five miles away – businesses, international visitors to Perkins (School), universities and colleges in the area,” McQuillan said. “Harvard, for sure, and BU, BC and Bentley will all have customers here.”

Business

Three Groups Pledge Money for Community Path Extension

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The extension of Watertown’s Community Path could soon become a reality thanks to a pledge from three local businesses. The owners of the Arsenal Project (formerly the Arsenal Mall), athenahealth and Tufts Health Plan have teamed up to offer $25,000 to go toward designing the new section of path from Arlington Street in Watertown to Fresh Pond in Cambridge, said Bill McQuillan, principal with Boylston Properties – which bought the Arsenal Mall last year. The money will cover half the cost, with the Department of Conservation and Recreation covering the rest. “If there are funds for projects like the Community Path they need to be shovel ready – they need to have plans drawn up,” McQuillan said Thursday night. “The DCR doesn’t have the money, so we co-funded the project.”

Business

See Which Watertown Business Will Be Closing

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The Staples in Watertown Square will be closing, an official from the company has confirmed. The store, located at 11 Mt. Auburn St., will close next month, according to Staple’s Kaitlyn Reardon. “I can confirm the Watertown location is closing in May,” Reardon said. The company is looking at the retail location and the shift toward online sales, Reardon said in an email.

Business

Grab Some Grub from Food Trucks in Watertown

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Need a bite to eat, try something new at the Commander’s Mansion, which will host food trucks five days a week beginning April 21. The trucks park on Talcott Avenue near the entrance to Arsenal Park,, and will offer a variety of goodies through the week, said Tammy McKenna, facilities manager at the Commander’s Mansion. “Last season we implemented a Food Truck pilot program once/twice a week and it was well received,” McKenna said. “This season we were given the go-ahead to open it up five days and it starts next Monday the 21st (of April) running through October 3rd.” The trucks are open to everyone.

Arsenal Complex

Athenahealth Seeks Zoning Changes for Arsenal Complex

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The company that bought the Arsenal on the Charles hopes to get some zoning changes to assist redeveloping the complex in Watertown. Tuesday night, the Town Council heard about a proposed zoning overlay for the complex, from Steve Magoon, Watertown’s director of Economic Development and Planning. The overlay would include several changes to the towns zoning rules just for that property that lies between Arsenal and North Beacon streets. One change would provide more flexibility to add more retail space. “It will not be come a third mall or anything,” Magoon added.

Business

Watertown Company Helps Keep the Lights On

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The electricity keeps running smoothly through your power lines, and more than 90 percent of power lines in the United States, thanks to the help of Watertown’s Doble Engineering. The Boston Globe featured the company, located on Walnut Street, in Thursday’s edition. The company was founded nearly a century ago and now provides technology, analysis and expertise to power providers, including NStar and National Grid, according to the Globe article. The report also includes details about the company’s history and some of it’s major inventions. Click here to read the Globe article.

Business

Plans for New Hotel in Watertown Coming into Focus

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Details about the proposal to build a hotel on the former Charles River Saab site are emerging and residents will have the chance to sound off on the project. The new owners of the Arsenal Mall (now known as the Arsenal Project), Boyslton Properties, also purchased the former car dealership, across Arsenal Street from the mall. The new hotel will be a Marriott, according to a report in the Watertown Tab, and will be designed by the same architecture firm behind the Marriott in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston. (Read more details by clicking here). A proposal to change the zoning for the areas including the property where the hotel is planned, would allow a building as high as 79 feet tall or six stories.