Sale of Watertown Arsenal to Athenahealth Finalized

The company purchased the Arsenal on the Charles Complex from Harvard University.

The sale of the Arsenal on the Charles complex by Harvard University to athenahealth has been finalized. The 760,000 square foot, 11-building complex was purchased for $168.5 million, according to a report on Market Watch.   News of the sale first came out in December 2012. Harvard purchased the former U.S. Army complex in 2001 for $162.6 million. It used to be known as the Watertown Arsenal and served as a military munitions manufacturing facility. Athenahealth, which specializies in cloud-based health care services, already uses 330,000 square feet of the site.  The tech company moved to the Arsenal on the Charles in 2005 when it moved into 133,000 square feet of space, and it reportedly sought 500,000 for its new headquarters, according…

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Tons of Material Removed as Part of Clean Up of Former Army Site

Old buildings have been torn down and trucked off, PCB soil still must be cleaned up.

Thousands of tons of steel, bricks and dirt have been trucked off the former Army property along Greenough Boulevard, and that is just the first step of the clean up of the contaminated area in East Watertown. The clean up focuses on the GSA Site, which was part of the Watertown Arsenal when the U.S. Army made munitions and big guns there. The Army Corps of Engineers is overseeing the clean up, and Thursday they reported their progress on the site. The project includes removing soil contaminated by PCBs on one part of the 12-acre site and tearing down five buildings remaining on the site. In place of the buildings a wetlands area will be created to replace the one in the contaminated area. Over the winter, the buildings came down, said …

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A Piece of History Returns to Watertown's Commander's Mansion

The son of a former head of the Watertown Arsenal returned to his old home and brought a piece of history with him.

Recently, two things returned to the Commander’s Mansion in the Watertown Arsenal for the first time since the post-World War II years, and one will remain at the historic house. Rolfe Gerhardt lived in the house just after the war when his father, Col. William “Dutch” Gerhardt, served as commander of the U.S. Army facility. In mid-January, Rolfe and his wife Susan came down from Maine to look around his old abode. Gerhardt lived in the house from age 7 to 9 – 1946 to 1948 – and he still remembers the fun he and his brother had in the old home. “The basement was super spooky,” Gerhardt said. “We would play hide and seek there and have cap gun fights.” He also found the spot where the family’s Philco Radio stood and he would listen to shows…

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You Ask, Patch Answers

What Happens to the Harvard Charitable Funds if the Watertown Arsenal is Sold?

Readers want to know what happens to the funds that go to local charities and groups if and when the Arsenal on the Charles is sold by Harvard.

  When Harvard purchased the Arsenal on the Charles complex in 2002, the university agreed to a number of payments to the town of Watertown as part of the 50 year agreement, including a $100,000 payment annually for local charities and organizations. The agreement, known as a payment in lieu of taxes (or PILOT), was put in place because as an educational institution Harvard does not have to pay regular property taxes.  Now the Arsenal on the Charles is under agreement to be sold from Harvard to Athenahealth - one of the current tennants of the complex. Watertown Patch readers wondered, what will happen to the charitable monies if and when the complex is sold?  Looks like Watertown will lose the charitable funds, which go to what is known …

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Athenahealth Buying Arsenal on the Charles in Watertown from Harvard University

The health care technology firm will purchase the 11-building complex in Watertown that used to be an Army facility.

The Arsenal on the Charles will have a new owner, as Athenahealth has an agreement with Harvard University to purchase the 11-building complex along Arsenal Street in Watertown. The company, specializing in cloud-based health care services, already has its headquarters in the former U.S. Army facility, and will purchase the other building for $168.5 million, according to a report in the Boston Herald. Carolyn Reckman, Athenahealth's director of environment, told the Herald that the purchase will give the 15-year-old company the flexibility and space that it needs to grow. The Arsenal on the Charles is home to more than 20 other businesses and groups, including the Bright Horizons and Harvard Business School Publishing. Athenahealth uses …

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Charlie Breitrose

11:46 am on Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Karl - I recall when they discussed the Harvard/O'Neil Funds this year that the 50 agreement goes as long as Harvard owns the property. I also talked to some town officials to make sure that was the case - which it sounds like it is.   more ›

Clean Up of Former Army Site Beginning Soon, Will be Turned into Recreation Land

Contamination will be removed from the GSA site, on Greenough Boulevard, and buildings will be torn down to make way for wetlands and passive recreation.

Representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers revealed general plans for removing the last of the contamination from the former Army facility along Greenough Boulevard in Watertown on Monday night. The project, which is being paid for out of the federal Superfund program, includes removal of PCB contaminated soil, demolishing old Army buildings and creation of a new wetland, said Michael Kunce, project manager with Charter Environmental, the contractor hired by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to oversee the cleanup. Surveys found some "hot spots" for PCB contamination where there is more than 50 ppm of contamination was found in a former burn pit used to dispose of depleted uranium and other materials. The contaminated soil will …

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What Should Go Here?: Space in the Arsenal on the Charles

A building in the old Watertown Arsenal seeks a new tenant, any ideas?

A building in the Arsenal on the Charles currently sits empty and is in need of a new tennant.  The former U.S. Army facility has been turned into space for offices, an arts center, restaurants and more. The building sits behind the parking garage.  A variety of companies have moved into the complex, most recently the Netwatch USA.  What kind of company, facility or other organization should move into the space? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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Watertown Officials Cheer the Clean up of Former Army Facility on Greenough Boulevard

Officials have pushed for decades to have the GSA Site cleaned up, including removing the crumbling buildings.

[Updated at 4:15 p.m. on July 18.] An eyesore and contaminated former Army facility at the corner of Arsenal Street and Greenough Boulevard will be cleaned up using federal funds. The 12-acre property used to be part of the U.S. Army’s Watertown Arsenal and part of the land was used as a burning pit. It will be turned into wetlands that can be used for “passive recreation.” Watertown officials received the news Tuesday, and celebrated the end of a decades long push to clean up what has become known as the GSA site. Town Councilor Susan Falkoff beamed as she made the announcement to her fellow councilors about the agreement to clean up the property. "We had gotten so close before and every time we got close something got in the way," said …

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gallo kate

12:19 pm on Friday, September 7, 2012

I agree. It would be great if something was also done to improve the appearance when you enter Watertown on Arsenal Street from Brighton/Allston.   more ›

90-Year-Old Shares his Stories and Mementos from his Time at the Watertown Arsenal

Daniel Roderick worked on some interesting and at the time classified projects, including developing a nuclear shell.

Daniel Roderick had an rare look at what happened inside the Watertown Arsenal when it housed a military testing facility, having worked on several projects, including classified research into making a nuclear shell. The 90-year-old Billerica man worked his first day at the Watertown Arsenal during World War II and after a stint in the U.S. Army, he worked at the military test facility for more than 35 years. On Monday, he visited the historic Edmund Fowle House and donated some items to the Watertown Historical Society. During his time at the Arsenal, Roderick said, incredible items were developed, for both military and other uses. One project that many in the area were not aware of at the time was work on creating a nuclear shell that …

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Watertown Advertising Agency Announces Move to Boston

Allen & Gerritsen will leave the Watertown Arsenal and head for the Seaport District.

Advertising firm Allen & Gerritsen, which has called Watertown home for 25 years, will move its offices to Boston's Seaport District, according to an announcement released by the firm Monday. In September 2012, the firm will move 120 employees to the area of the Seaport that Boston Mayor Thomas Menino has dubbed the Innovation District. The move places the firm in vicinity of several high-tech companies, said CEO Andrew Graff. “Creativity, technology and curiosity are at the heart of Allen & Gerritsen's core,” said Graff in a release. "That's why the Innovation District will be the perfect home for our agency."

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