Development

LETTER: Group Concerned About Future of Arsenal Street After Planning Board Vote

By |

TO: Michael J. Driscoll, Town Manager; Steven Magoon, Director of Community Development and Planning; Honorable Town Council; Planning Board, and Zoning Board of Appeals
FROM: Concerned Citizens Group, Inc.
DATE: 6/18/14
It is disheartening to hear the recommendation on 6/11 for current Cresset-Hanover-WS plans to move forward to Zoning Board of Appeals for consideration. After many public discussions about “learning from Pleasant St” and not wanting homogeneous, long corridors, canyonization, and projects disconnected from the surrounding contexts, etc , in addition to all the good work put into drafting a new Comprehensive Plan, we are in disbelief. Concerned Citizens Group “CCG” continues our appeal for a coordinated effort between developers/owners, Planning/Zoning, and the neighbors. As you are aware, as part of our ongoing appeal to Town, we completed a vision statement for our neighborhood four years ago (see attached). By following a similar process modeled by Athena-Boylston Properties efforts on the Arsenal Overlay Development District, an overlay for the Watertown Square end of Arsenal St corridor could also be accomplished in short order.

Development

Planning Board OKs Seven Story Parking Garage at Arsenal on the Charles

By |

The Planning Board gave the go ahead to the owners of the Arsenal on the Charles to build a parking garage that will be 90 feet tall. 

The parking structure will have seven stories, which will reach the maximum height of 79 feet, and then will have a “green” roof with grass or other things growing on it. This roof will increase the height to 90 feet. The roof is needed so the top floor does not have to be plowed when it snows. The garage will have about 1,800 spaces, and will allow owners athenahealth to remove the same number of spaces from ground level in the complex that stretches along Arsenal Street, said Larry Beals, architect with Beals Associates Inc. which is designing the garage and other changes in the Arsenal. When completed 94 percent of the parking will be in garages, compared to 58 percent now. Residents worried about the size of the structure.

Government

Grant Will Provide Watertown Firefighters With New Set of Protective Gear

By |

Watertown firefighters will have a new set protective clothing to fight fires thanks to a federal grant awarded recently. Last week, Watertown Fire Chief Mario Orangio received notification that the Watertown Fire Department will receive $186,750, or 90 percent of the cost of purchasing a new set of “turnout gear,” through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG). “I am pleased to report that our application to the AFG equipment program has been awarded,” Orangio said. “This award allows us to purchase 83 new sets of gear replacing some as old as 10 years.” The town will have to provide the remaining 10 percent of the cost, $20,750, Orangio said.

Development

Residents, Business Owners Say Pleasant Street Zoning Changes Go Too Far

By |

The Planning Board got the first public input Wednesday night on proposals to change the Pleasant Street Corridor zoning rules and heard from a lot of business owners and residents who do not like the proposals. Some did not like the restriction of uses proposed by creating three different zones in the area. Others said the new rules to make the area less “canyon-ized” with tall, long buildings close to the street makes some parcels unbuildable. The Pleasant Street Corridor came into existence several years ago when the Town Council sought to redevelop unused or underused former industrial properties in the Westside of town. In the last couple years development has taken off, but virtually all have been residential, and mostly large apartment buildings.

Development

Major Arsenal Street Project Gets OK from Planning Board, Moves Onto ZBA

By |

The proposed apartment complex, market and restaurant got a grudging approval from the Watertown Planning Board, and now needs a vote from the Zoning Board for full approval. The project proposed by the Hanover Company and Cresset Development, includes a four-story residential building with nearly 300 apartment units (about 2/3 of which are one-bedroom units), space for a market, a restaurant and other retail along Arsenal Street. Located at 202-204 Arsenal Street and 58 Irving Street, the project got a 3-1 vote of approval from the Planning Board, with some conditions. Planning Board member Neal Corbett voted against the project. Changes

After the first Planning Board meeting, developers were asked to try to break up the look of the east side of the project to stop it from appearing like one big wall.

Government

Watertown Hires Town Engineer for Department of Public Works

By |

After years without one, Watertown’s Department of Public Works again has a Town Engineer. On Tuesday, Town Manager Michael Driscoll announced the hiring of Matthew Shuman. He will start his new job as Town Engineer on June 23. Shuman comes to Watertown after working as assistant town engineer for the Town of Winchester. Before that he worked with the towns of Melrose and Bedford.

Government

School Officials Will Try to Reduce Class Sizes, Mandated Positions Must Come First

By |

After finding out that they will not receive as much funding as they hoped, Watertown school officials will try to reduce class sizes with the money they have, said Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald. The schools asked for a $1 million on top of the $2.267 million increase in the preliminary town budget. Tuesday, they received $290,000. (See details from the meeting by clicking here). Last week Fitzgerald said about $640,000 from the $1 million request was needed to cover the increase in special education costs, and the remaining money would go to hire teachers to reduce class sizes.

Government

Town Budget Includes Boost for Schools, but Not as Much as Requested

By |

The Town Council passed a budget Tuesday night that includes a $290,000 boost for special education costs, but not the $1 million requested last week by the School Committee or the amount requested by the Superintendent in April. The money from the amendment brings the total education budget to $39.232 million, an increase of $2.557 million. Also approved were two one-time curriculum fundings of $210,000 in Fiscal 2014 and $750,000 in Fiscal 2015. The total increase is a 9.59 percent increase over Fiscal 2014, said Town Manager Michael Driscoll. The amendment fell short of the $1 million requested by the School Committee last week ($640,000 for special education and $360,000 to reduce class sizes).