Business

Watertown Real Estate Market Remained Vibrant in 2021, See the Top Agents & Offices

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Watertown’s residential real estate market remained strong during 2021, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, finishing stronger than 2020. In 2021, 424 properties in Watertown sold for a total of $316.63 million. More homes were sold than in 2020, when 413 properties were purchased, but the total amount was lower than 2020’s $586.21 million. In 2019, 429 homes sold for a total of $590 million

Top Agents

The agent with the most sales in Watertown was Bob Airasian of Coldwell Banker in Belmont. The Watertown resident sold 25 properties for $22.82 million.

Around Town

Developer to Discuss Plans for Watertown Mall at Community Meeting

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Alexandria Real Estate EquitiesA rendering of the conceptual plans for the Watertown Mall property and adjacent properties. Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. will discuss conceptual plans for the Watertown Mall property and adjacent properties. Meetings are planned for Thursday, Jan. 27 and Tuesday, March 1 and will be held virtually. The plan calls for keeping the Target store, and building a campus on the properties that will include life science, retail and community uses.

Around Town

Car Fire Spreads to Become 2 Alarm Blaze, Damages Watertown Home

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Several Watertown residents were displaced by a fire that started in a car. On Saturday, Jan. 15 at 8:15 a.m. a car fire was reported on Flint Road. A working fire was declared at 8:30 a.m.

“Upon arrival companies found a fully involved vehicle fire with extension into the home,” said the post on the Watertown Fire Department’s Facebook page. Deputy Chief Robert Iannetta ordered a second alarm for the fire, which damaged the 2.5 story two-family home.

City Council

Residents Share the Qualities They Want in Next City Manager, Consultant Outlines Process

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Watertown City Hall

Residents shared a long list of qualities and qualifications they would like to see in Watertown’s next City Manager during a community forum hosted by the City Council and the manager search firm. The focus was getting input from residents during the Ad Hoc Committee on the Town Manager Search forum on Wednesday, which lasted more than 90 minutes. Residents also got a chance to pose questions about the search process to Bernie Lynch of Community Paradigm Associates. During the forum, Lynch said he expects the Watertown City Manager position will get a lot of interest from qualified candidates. Qualities and Qualifications

A variety of qualifications were suggested by participants, including having strong financial management experience, good communication skills, and being a good manager of department heads and employees.

CTE

Committee Looking at Vocational, Technical Education to Include Parents & Residents

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The Watertown Public Schools will form a committee to look at the options for vocational and technical education available inside and outside the district, and the group will include parents and community members. For many years, Watertown has sent dozens of students to Minuteman High School in Lexington for vocational and technical education. Superintendent Dede Galdston said that the City is not part of the Minuteman High School District, but rather pays tuition for each resident to attend. “Watertown is a non-member, tuition-paying entity for Minuteman, which has worked for decades, but that changed with new (Minuteman) school — there are not as many students who can go to Minuteman,” Galdston said. Other vocational schools in the area, including Medford and Somerville, have vocational programs which are open to students who do not live in the district.

Around Town

Council Wants to Start Moxley Courts Project Soon, Worried Neighbors May Oppose Street Hockey Rink

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CDM SmithA drawing of the proposed layout for the courts and a street hockey rink at Moxley Field. The City Council discussed plans to renovate the courts at Moxley Field, but one feature — a street hockey rink — caused concerns among the Councilors. The City’s goal is to complete the work by the fall of 2022, before the rest of Moxley Field goes under construction to be the temporary home of Watertown High School while the new school is built.

Planning for the courts began a few years ago, said Glenn Howard of CDM Smith, who made a presentation to the Council in November 2017. The idea of replacing one of the tennis courts with a street hockey court —‚ which could also be used for soccer, lacrosse or other sports — came up then. A public walk through of the site occurred in December 2017, and Council President Mark Sideris recalled that some neighbors opposed the idea of having a hockey rink there.

Schools

COVID Cases in Watertown Schools Went Beyond What Officials Expected, New Protocols Discussed

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The number of COVID-19 cases in the Watertown Public Schools was beyond what officials expected, and the way that pool testing will be administered has changed so not as many students need to be retested. Superintendent Dede Galdston discussed the upsurge in COVID-19 cases in the schools, and the steps being taken to prevent the spread. She added that the number of positive cases in the week after Winter Break, 193, was by far the most seen in the Watertown Schools since the pandemic began. “What we experienced last week was not something any of us were prepared for. I am not sure any of us in any district were truly prepared for what happened last week,” Galdston said, who told the School Committee that she is in quarantine herself after testing positive for COVID-19.