Watertown Infill and Small Developments

"Building 2" from yesterday.
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737900er said:
I am having trouble figuring out where exactly this is and what it's replacing.
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It replaced the Doble engineering firm building no great loss I work next door , they’re changing our address with a new access rd and it will be 1 and 2 Arsenal way
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For Lease: Watertown’s 66 Galen, A Laboratory Facility To Help Expand Boston’s Flourishing Life Sciences Industry​

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“66 Galen is a 224K SF Class-A laboratory building in Watertown, a submarket in the Greater Boston life sciences hub. The project is being delivered in the fourth quarter and is part of a two-phase life sciences development that will be up to 464K SF once completed. The purpose-built facility has a host of amenities with an acre of green space, a fitness center, a bike area, six private tenant spaces and a café that aims to promote wellness.”

https://www.bisnow.com/boston/news/...e-sciences-the-davis-companies-studiob-120742
 
Yeah, brand new class A places like this, located in secondary or tertiary markets, are going to be the bellwether of the industry (note that this is NOT in Watertown's Arsenal Yards, but a bit further west near...basically nothing). Still a lot of new capacity coming online in much higher demand areas, and if this is trying to lease at current class A rates I could imagine them having trouble moving the building. Curious to see how this one in particular plays out.
 
stick n move said:

For Lease: Watertown’s 66 Galen, A Laboratory Facility To Help Expand Boston’s Flourishing Life Sciences Industry​

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fit

fit


“66 Galen is a 224K SF Class-A laboratory building in Watertown, a submarket in the Greater Boston life sciences hub. The project is being delivered in the fourth quarter and is part of a two-phase life sciences development that will be up to 464K SF once completed. The purpose-built facility has a host of amenities with an acre of green space, a fitness center, a bike area, six private tenant spaces and a café that aims to promote wellness.”

https://www.bisnow.com/boston/news/...e-sciences-the-davis-companies-studiob-120742
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Some concerning recent context:

www.bostonglobe.com

The Boston area built a ton of lab space. Now many of those buildings are opening empty. - The Boston Globe

The region's supply of life science real estate exploded just as the once-booming industry hit a slow patch. Now what?
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com

"......But for each of those there’s a project like Watertown’s 66 Galen St. or a pair of towers along Middlesex Avenue just outside Somerville’s Assembly Square, prominent above Interstate 93: all newly built labs that are, as of now, unleased....“With a two-decade history of successfully developing life-science properties, we have the perspective and the ability to take the long view,” said Stephen Davis, president of The Davis Cos., which built 66 Galen St. in Watertown. “The recent market has certainly been disappointing, but we are believers in the future of discovery and the life-science industry in Greater Boston.....”
 
A small glimmer of hope.

Not all towns fighting state requirement to make multi-family housing easier to build near T stops​


“Banker & Tradesman reports that Watertown and Needham could end up exceeding state requirements for their rezoning efforts, and that Watertown has actually brought in urban-planning consultants to figure out the best ways to increase density in Watertown Square.”

UHub link

B&T article
 
stick n move said:
A small glimmer of hope.

Not all towns fighting state requirement to make multi-family housing easier to build near T stops​


“Banker & Tradesman reports that Watertown and Needham could end up exceeding state requirements for their rezoning efforts, and that Watertown has actually brought in urban-planning consultants to figure out the best ways to increase density in Watertown Square.”

UHub link

B&T article
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Salim Furth (Housing scholar @ Mercatus) has pointed out that 44% of Milton voting for more housing in a plan not particularly close to transit is actually a remarkable sign of popularity of upzoning elsewhere. Milton, arguably is one of the least likely places to vote for density, vs say a Watertown.
 
Yea the mbta communities act is a good first step but its very limited. Theres going to also have to be a lot of development in the other parts of the towns thats not around CR stations in order to be able to build enough housing overall. Its good to focus on density around transit, thats the most ideal place to put it, but if towns have other areas where they have room to grow they should be building there too. Hopefully the next step after this is getting towns to rezone other areas for density, legalizing ADUs statewide, legalizing corner stores within residential areas, legalizing more areas for retail, and hopefully eventually elimination of single family only zoning statewide.
 

New MBTA Transit-Oriented Housing Rules Spur Placemaking in Watertown​

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A view of Watertown Square with new streets and buildings that could be enabled by proposed transit-oriented zoning changes. Courtesy of the City of Watertown.

“Greater Boston has hundreds of wonderful little downtowns and village centers. Watertown Square should be the envy of them all, but it isn’t. It could be!

Watertown Square has the Charles River; old buildings made of brick and stone containing restaurants, retail, and civic services; frequent bus service; a public green with pretty trees; and arterials connecting it to Boston, Waltham, Newton, Belmont, and Cambridge, as well as to other little villages within Watertown. It is in walking-, biking-, and kayaking-distance to ample jobs, sweet neighborhoods, and many cool places. The Square even has a 24-hour CVS.

But, as the author of Walkable City, Jeff Speck concluded at a public meeting in Watertown last week, “it has never felt like a place for hanging around.”

To correct that, Watertown Square is getting the full treatment from a team of urbanist leaders, including Speck, Loren Rapport and Tim Love from planning and architecture firm Utile, Ralph DeNisco from engineering and design firm Stantec, and economist John Trementozzi from Landwise Advisors.

Also worth noting: Watertown City Manager George Proakis is himself a leader in zoning and land use planning. Proakis has led successful, significant rezoning efforts in both Lowell and Somerville. MBTA staff has also been at the table. Plus, the public is turning out in large numbers for meetings in person and on-line.

For urbanists across the country, it will be an important case study of land use planning. The team is considering the look and feel and function of it all, taking on roads, bridges, bikeways, sidewalks, bus routes, river connection, greenspaces, community gathering places, and of course, MBTA Communities zoning.

As for the rezoning, there are lots of things to take note of. For example, the team is recommending a parking minimum of a half-space per dwelling unit, which is less parking than most suburban zoning laws require. “It encourages people with fewer cars to move here,” Proakis explained.

With public input, the team established criteria for deciding whether parcel redevelopment would need a special permit or be allowed as-of-right. Parcels containing historic buildings or located adjacent to single-family and two-family residential neighborhoods would be designated for special permits. Parcels considered as priorities for transformation, for example ones containing auto-oriented uses, would be zoned as-of-right.

Only the units zoned as-of-right count towards the state’s assigned “unit capacity” for Watertown, listed in the MBTA Communities compliance guidelines as 1,701 units. The unit capacity reached through the parcel-by-parcel designation of as-of-right zoning has come to 3,133 units. In addition, the team is recommending as-of-right zoning for multifamily housing on certain publicly owned parcels; these parcels are not counting toward the unit capacity, per the state’s guidelines. The team’s aim was to zone based on criteria for improving the Square, and not just to meet the minimum capacity number…”

https://mass.streetsblog.org/2024/0...d-housing-rules-spur-placemaking-in-watertown
 
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