With developers licking their chops to build major commercial projects in Watertown, town officials are mulling the biggest zoning overhaul in decades to reflect the current thinking about smart growth.
The changes are in line with the development strategies of Boston-based developers Boylston Properties and Wilder Cos. and electronic medical records manager Athenahealth. The companies have paid more than $250 million in the past year to acquire properties along the Arsenal Street corridor, an area they see as a future hub of start-ups and open-air retail development. William McQuillan, president of Boylston Properties, said inner-ring suburbs such as Watertown fill a growing niche in Greater Boston’s booming development scene.
“There is a substantial office [tenant] population who can’t afford downtown, and from a recruitment or retainment perspective, they don’t want to be purely in the suburbs,” McQuillan said. “They want to be in between. They’re hedging their bets and they want to get a little of both.”
The recommended zoning changes would allow mixed-use development of the “live-work-play” variety that is predominant in many large projects, such as Somerville’s $1.5-billion Assembly Row.
Athenahealth’s expansion plans are a cornerstone of the Watertown redevelopment. Last year, the company bought the 760,000-square-foot Arsenal on the Charles office complex from Harvard University for $168.5 million, and received $9.5 million in state tax credits after agreeing to add 1,900 jobs at its headquarters there over the next decade. The company has announced plans to add 150,000 square feet of office space to the 11-building campus, which also includes tenants Harvard Business School Publishing, Bright Horizons and Boston Sports Clubs.
Athenahealth currently occupies 350,000 square feet with 1,600 employees at the Watertown site, Director Bridger McGaw said.
The company has already begun efforts to activate the property as a community space, hosting a farmer’s market on Thursday nights beginning June 5, and seeking approval to host pop-up retailers and outdoor food vendors, McGaw said.
“We’re trying out different things to see what the community likes and engages with,” he said.
In a joint venture with Athenahealth CEO Jonathan Bush Jr. and Wilder Cos. of Boston, Boylston Properties acquired a cluster of commercial properties along the Arsenal Street corridor in August 2013. The transaction included the 225,000-square-foot Arsenal Mall, an adjacent Golftown retail parcel and the Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates building.
The existing enclosed Arsenal Mall has too many “mediocre-performing” tenants, but Boylston Properties thinks it can attract higher-end retailers and restaurants given the population density and median income of the surrounding area, McQuillan said.
“We love it as a retail play,” he said.
Boylston Properties last year also acquired the former Charles River Saab property, which is in permitting for a 148-room Marriott Residence Inn projected to break ground late this year. Boylston also has agreed to buy a 10-acre industrial parcel at 480 Arsenal St., McQuillan announced last week. Office, retail or residential uses are being considered for the parcel to the rear of the Watertown Mall, he said.
The developers have not submitted specific plans for the mall and office properties. But they have indicated they want to convert the mall to an outdoor format. Athenahealth has suggested livening up its office campus with restaurants, performing art space, outdoor meeting space, a farmer’s market and beer garden.
Inner-ring suburbs of Boston are benefiting from the demographic shift to urban settings for work and living space. In Somerville, Federal Realty Investment Trust is building 300,000 square feet of retail stores and restaurants, 100,000 square feet of office space and 450 residential units in the first phase of the $1.5-billion Assembly Row redevelopment, which is opening throughout the year.
“It starts where people are living, and then you look at how companies need to react to that. If you want to be competitive in a high-tech environment, you’ve got to be close to the knowledge worker,” said Don Briggs, senior vice president of development for Federal Realty.
Zoning regulations in many communities have been slow to reflect the new lifestyle patterns, however. Watertown’s last comprehensive land-use study was completed in 1989.
The town began the latest look at its zoning in 2012. It hired consultants Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc. to look at future growth and issues such as transportation, housing, recreation and economic development. The draft comprehensive plan was released last week.
The study focused on four major squares and corridors that will be key to future development: Watertown Square and the Main Street corridor toward Waltham, the Galen Street corridor, Arsenal Street and the Mt. Auburn Street corridor.
Arsenal Street is currently fragmented with a variety of different densities and uses, from industrial to automotive to retail. To maximize economic development, future uses should emphasize commercial office and retail development, the draft study recommended. It also endorsed mixed-use development including residential, but without frontage on Arsenal Street.
It also recommends allowing structured parking and increases in building height – two elements that are part of Athenahealth’s concepts for Arsenal on the Charles.
With increased traffic and daytime workforce, the town should look at ways to make the area more pedestrian friendly including traffic reduction and slowing programs, the report stated. It also suggests adding pedestrian and bike connections from Arsenal Street to residential neighborhoods.
With the draft plan now available to the public, the town will schedule community forums with the goal of deciding on the zoning changes by mid-summer, said Gideon Schreiber, Watertown’s senior planner. The town council makes the final decision on zoning amendments.
Email: sadams@thewarrengroup.com
