Politics & Government

Old Rail Road Land Could be Used for Bike Path, Hold Up Sale of Land

The former railroad runs through the property where a Walmart store had been proposed.

Watertown Town Councilors want to make sure an old railroad line can be turned into a section of the Community Path and could do so by purchasing it, but owners of the property where it is located say that will kill any sale of the land.

The old rail line runs through the Pirolli & Son's property near Arsenal and Irving Streets, which at one time was the proposed site of a Walmart store. 

The town has the option of buying the strip of land for $4,275 from the Department of Transportation, however the owners of the rest of the 5.3 acre site say that will be problematic for them.

"Pirolli is in negotiation with a developer but if the town owns this piece of the property, the developer will not be able to obtain financing to develop the entire 5.3 acre site," Councilor Steven Corbett said, reading the report from the Economic Development and Planning subcommittee.

The ownership of the land is not so straight forward. The land was owned by the B&M Railroad, and when it went bankrupt the land was deeded to Pirolli. The bankruptcy files were destroyed, however, and the MassDOT has questions about the legal status of the land, according to the subcommittee report. 

While the town may not buy it, Councilors said they want to keep the option open. Some suggested that a condition could be placed of any development on the site that the rail property be used for the Community Path.

The site sits next to residential neighborhoods, noted Town Councilor John Donohue.

"The property is volatile to neighbors," Donohue said. "We need to look out not only for the town's interest but also for the neighbors."


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