Chat Live About the Future of Development in Watertown Friday at Noon

Walmart & more: Watertown Economic Development and Planning Director Steve Magoon will be here at noon tomorrow to answer your questions.

Developments are popping up around Watertown, and more have been discussed, including Walmart. Find out the latest on that proposal, as well as other projects and what town officials are doing to encourage developers to build in town during Patch's live chat with Watertown's head of Economic Development and Planning on Friday at noon.  As head of the that department, Steve Magoon works with developers and hears about the latest projects being considered for Watertown. Before the chat begins, be sure to check out the story and leave your questions for Mr. Magoon in the comments section below. The live chat will be opened by 9 a.m. so you can leave questions there ahead of time and sign up for a reminder of the chat's start. Some recent …

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Join the Live Chat on Development in Watertown on Friday

Steve Magoon, Watertown's director of Economic Development and Planning, will join Watertown Patch for a live chat on development issues in town, including Walmart and the proposal to increase the number of liquor licenses to attract more restaurants.

Join Patch's Live Chat on Development in Watertown on Friday

Economic Development and Planning Director Steve Magoon will be joining in to answer questions about what's going on with Walmart, new housing and other building projects in town.

Walmart has grabbed the attention of many in Watertown, but there are other developments being built now and may be coming down the line. Learn about these and more when Watertown Patch chats live with Watertown's head of Economic Development and Planning next Friday. Steve Magoon will be on the chat on May 25 at noon. As head of the Economic Development and Planning Department he works with developers and hears about the latest projects being considered for Watertown. Before the chat begins, be sure to check out the story and leave your questions for Mr. Magoon. Some recent issues that have come before town boards include: Feel free to leave questions in the comment section below or email them to charlie.breitrose@patch.com.

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Find Out the Latest on Development in Watertown on a Live Chat Next Week

Watertown Patch will chat live with Watertown's Director of Economic Development and Planning, Steve Magoon, on May 25.

New housing projects are popping up around town, there's talk of Walmart coming to Arsenal Street and now the Town Council is looking at adding liquor licenses to attract more restaurants to Watertown. Learn more about these issues and more on May 25 at noon (moved from May 17) when Watertown Patch chats with the man who has his finger on the pulse of development in Watertown, Economic Development and Planning Director Steve Magoon. Log on that day and send in your questions about what's going on with new housing, business and other projects in Watertown. Some recent issues that have come before town boards include: Feel free to leave questions in the comment section below or email them to charlie.breitrose@patch.com.

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UPDATED: Councilors Look to Add More Liquor Licenses, but Watertown Restaurant Owners are Wary

Councilors say the licenses are key to attract new development. Local restaurant owners fear the new restaurants using the licenses will take business away, and devalue their own licenses.

[NOTE: The amount that liquor licenses in Watertown are worth was mistakenly listed as $500,000 in the original version of the story. The correct figure is $200,000.] Town Councilors explored the idea of adding up to 12 liquor licenses in town as a way to attract new developments in town, but local restaurant owners bristled at the idea fearing that a flood of new restaurants coming in and taking their business away. Tuesday, a joint meeting of the Economic Development and Planning, Rules and Ordinances and Public Safety subcommittees discussed the idea of adding licenses to make the town an attractive place to build hotels and mixed-use complexes with office space and retail – including restaurants. The town has 34 licenses for …

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Planning Board Approves Waltham Street Apartment Project

Developers say the key was cutting down the size of the project, neighbors were disappointed.

Developers of the 155-unit Waltham Street apartment complex finally got the vote they sought for five months, approval of the project by the Planning Board. The Planning Board voted 4-1 to approve the plans Wednesday night, with Linda Tuttle-Barletta voting against the project. Over the months since the project first came before the Planning Board in November, developers from Wood Associates cut the number of units from 222 to 211 and then to 155. The latest version replaced one of the three apartment buildings with a set of 12 townhouses. Chopping down the size of the project was key to getting approval of the project that faced major opposition from neighbors and scrutiny from the Planning Board, said Kevin Malley, vice president with …

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Second Part of Repton Place Project Will Come Before the Watertown Zoning Board in May

Developers want to make some changes to the second half of the multi-unit housing project on Pleasant Street.

The developers of Repton Place will be back before the Zoning Board in May, asking for some changes to the plan, including making phase 2 apartments and adding a swimming pool, said Economic Development and Planning Director Steve Magoon. The first phase of the Repton Place project, at 555 Pleasant St., was completed in 2007. The second part calls for two buildings with a total of 206 units to be built just east of the current buildings, adding to the 196 units built in the first phase. “There are new owners. The number of units hasn’t changed, there building will have very minor architectural changes,” Magoon said. “The biggest change is they are going to add a swimming pool in one of the open space areas, and it is going to be rental as …

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West Side Residents Want Traffic Slowed on Their Streets

Residents met in response to the Waltham Street apartments proposal, but they say the problem already exists.

West Side residents want to see steps taken to slow traffic down in their neighborhood roads, whether or not the Waltham Street apartment complex is approved. The group that gathered Wednesday night at the Watertown Police Station said they do not want to see a 155-unit apartment complex built on Waltham Street, next to the Jewish Community Day School. They say traffic is already bad and they worry it will just get worse if the project is approved. Rutland Street resident Joe Berkeley said he does not believe the project fits into the neighborhood, with hundreds of apartments going into an area of single-family homes. “I hate talking about what we want if it is approved, it’s almost giving in,” Berkeley said. He worries that Rutland Street…

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Sonny Beaches

9:12 am on Friday, March 23, 2012

"...checking on what's legal and what's not before taking action?" Please, It's so much easier just to pander to the Townies. That's how you get elected to the TC.   more ›

Planning Board Delays Decision on Waltham Street Apartment Project

Board members want more information on the impact of traffic on the neighborhood. Neighbors want to have their say.

Dozens of West End residents came out to the Watertown Planning Board meeting to plead for more time before the vote was made on a major apartment complex proposed to be built on Waltham Street. Wednesday night the Planning Board granted their wish and – with the agreement of developer Wood Associates – they delayed the vote on the 155-unit apartment complex. The project outlined by Kevin Malley, a vice president with Wood Associates, is significantly smaller than the first proposal. Originally, the project had 222 units in four and five story buildings and now it has 155 units in four story buildings and two-story town houses. The Watertown Planning Department staff found that the proposed project meets the requirements for approval, said…

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Residents Worry About Waltham St. Project Changing Their Neighborhood

Denying the project would not likely keep the land as is. Residents want more time to come up with a counter proposal.

Westside residents did not like the revised plans presented Thursday night by the developers of the proposed Waltham Street apartment complex, despite shrinking it by about 30 percent, but town officials said they should think about what they want on the piece of land across from Gore Place. Streets in the area are already clogged with traffic, residents said, and they worry about that problem increasing. In addition, those gathered in Town Hall said they worry about what happens down the road should the company managing the complex sell to another group that lets the place fall apart. Wood Partners, the development firm, presented a revised plan, with 155 units, rather than the 222 or 211 in earlier versions of the complex. Seven of the …

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