Arsenal Mall Renovation

Changes to Arsenal Park Could Result from Renovation of Arsenal Mall

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Boylston Properties Principal Bill McQuillan had an urgent message for residents and town officials Wednesday night. If they want to improve Arsenal Park, now is the time to start figuring out how. 

“We knew this was going to come up,” McQuillan said “It’s August 17, we need that park figured out, because we’re not going to do this plan without that park, or without that park we’re going to do a different plan.”

Arsenal Project developers held their fourth community meeting, at the Innovation Space at the Arsenal Mall Wednesday, where they updated residents and town officials on the project’s design direction and presented their latest building and site renderings. The presentation included preliminary plans to create pathways through the park that would connect directly to the property. Arsenal Park is run and maintained by the Conservation Commission, which would have to approve any proposed changes. Though the upgrades to the park were included in the presentation, Design Architect Christopher Jones said there’s still a lot of work to be done with the town and community.

Around Town

New Community Gardens Going in at Arsenal Park, Help Needed to Build Beds

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Watertown Community Gardens will be opening some new plots at Arsenal Park, but before gardeners can start planting the planters must be built.

The former street hockey area at Arsenal Park will be the location for the new garden plots, said Terese Hammerle, chair of the board of Watertown Community Gardens. “Between the tennis courts and the basketball courts, we will build raised beds on the solid surface,” Hammerle said. A work day will be held on July 23 (with a rain date of July 24). Volunteers are needed to build the planters, Hammerle said. Once completed, there will be around 50 new plots for Watertown residents to farm.

Government

Watertown’s Second Dog Park Could Be Built on the East Side

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Dogs may have their day on the East Side of Watertown with the Town Council looking at building the town’s second facility for pooches. This spring, the town’s first dog park opened in How Park on Pleasant Street. The town has studied putting a second one in one of the parks in East Watertown, said Town Manager Michael Driscoll. Tuesday night, the Council voted to send the issue to the Public Works subcommittee. The two parks being examined as places to put the dog park are Arsenal Park and Filippello Park.

Police/Fire

Man Attacked, Robbed While Walking Through Arsenal Park at Night

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A man was attacked and robbed by three men while he walked through Arsenal Park on the evening of July 1. 

Police received a call at 9:28 p.m. from the victim, a 28-year-old man from Newton, who went over to the IHOP on Soldiers Field Road after the attack. “The victim was visibly shaken and had lacerations on both knees and had pain on his head and back,” said Watertown Police Lt. Michael Lawn. The man left work at the Arsenal Project and said he walked through nearby Arsenal Park. “He was struck from behind and knocked to the ground,” Lawn said. “He was kicked in the midsection and was attacked by 3-4 black males, possibly wearing backpacks.”

Around Town

Tufts Health Plan Lends a Helping Hand Around Watertown

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Groups of people in blue T-shirts could be seen around Watertown last week working on a variety of projects – all part of the Tufts Health Plan Corporate Volunteer Day. More than 130 employees of the company based on Mt. Auburn Street in Watertown took part in the company’s sixth annual volunteer day. Some cleared brush and planted flowers and plants at the Commander’s Mansion and the Old Burying Place; while others painted the railing at Watertown’s Main Street Bridge, buildings at Arsenal Park and a wall at Filippello Park.  

A wall on Baptist Walk (off Mt.

Around Town

A Dog Park May be Coming to a Watertown Park Near You

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By Charlie Breitrose

Dogs may soon have a place to run and play in Watertown. The Town Council voted Tuesday to ask town staff to explore the cost and timeline for building a dog run area in How Park on Pleasant Street, and investigate putting another one at Arsenal Park or Filippello Park. In addition, residents will be able to use a dog park being built as part of the new apartment complex being built on Waltham Street. The run at How Park would be 200 feet by 100 feet, and would be along the sloped area near Pleasant Street, said Watertown Director of Economic Development and Planning Steve Magoon. “It is sloped and has some trees, so it is not good for a ball field, but it is a good place for dogs to run around,” Magoon said.