WATERTOWN IS A SMALL CITY WITH A TOWNISH VIBE. SHOULD WE KEEP IT OR KILL IT?

 Broder, the new owner of the former Cannistraro property in West Watertown, delivered a two-part message for the residents of Watertown. First, they are not your run-of-the-mill hit-and-run developer. And second, Watertown, for them, is more than just another city with a sexy hunk of developable land. This Boston-based, Newbury Street company feels a special connection to Watertown.

That message came across loud and clear at the March 20 meeting, at City Hall, but I can’t quite remember what that connection is. Well, it doesn’t really matter. The $47 million they paid for the property bought them a lot of connection.

So, who exactly are they?

They tell us, in a few paragraphs, on their website. I’ve taken the liberty of breaking out the sentences from the paragraphs to better highlight the bumper sticker messages they contain.

Here they are, one bumper sticker at a time:

“Broder invests in, develops, and manages commercial, residential, and hospitality properties.”

“We are inspired by great design.”

“Style that transcends trend.” (I have no idea what this means but I’m going to start using it at cocktail parties)

“Enduring quality.” (so  much better than unenduring quality)

“Services and amenities that elevate everyday living.”

“We believe these things create lasting value.”

“We strive to respect people and the planet by building sustainably.”

“We strive to respect the communities we work in by engaging in conversations with the residents and elected officials who know them best.”

“Our mission is to contribute to the evolution of stronger, healthier, more dynamic neighborhoods.”

That last message on the list is important. How exactly will they set about this mission to contribute to the evolution of a stronger, healthier, more dynamic neighborhood in the immediate vicinity of their development?

Oh, and what if that neighborhood, in which they are taking up residence, does not wish to be dynamic, but simply happy and intact?

 Well before the March 20 community meeting, Broder gave us a written bird’s eye view of how they plan on contributing to the mental and physical well-being of the community – and while they did not define community, I assume they mean the community of Watertown and especially the local community that their project will impact the most.

Here’s what they told us:

(I put the sexy parts in bold)

“The campus has been designed to actively invite residents to enjoy thoughtfully landscaped publicly accessible green space, bicycle paths, and pedestrian connections, all proximate to the Charles River Greenway.”

“The project will contribute high-quality public retail and open green spaces that bring people and families together, as well as landscaped connections to the surrounding neighborhoods, Charles River Greenway, and improved bicycle and pedestrian circulation.”

A central open space will be created, with a “cyclist-friendly amenity” for tenants and the broader community. The open space would include a lawn space, a covered pavilion, and welcoming seating areas.

If you close your eyes, you can almost hear the sounds of birds singing and squirrels scampering across benches. You might even be wondering where you stashed your picnic basket for the winter.

So, on top of the tax dollars that they’ll be pouring into the city coffers, Broder will generously create a beautiful park for residents to enjoy. What could there possibly be to complain about?

You know the old saying: The devil is in the details?

Concerned residents took a look at the plans and examined every damn detail, especially the devilish ones.

And then the comments began to appear on Watertown News – an avalanche of comments. To put it mildly, the details were disturbing and this project really struck a nerve. But here’s the thing. These were not angry impulsive, incoherent rants, by the same old disgruntled individuals who fly off the handle over every conceivable issue. These were intelligent, thoughtful, impassioned arguments aimed at a system they’ve come to regard as being negligent and unresponsive.

Here are some excerpts from their comments on Watertown News months before the March 20 meeting:

“Overall, an improvement to current conditions but the life sciences building is too tall. Illustration suggests 4 stories, should be 3 stories so as not to loom over nearby residential buildings.

Pleasant and Bridge Streets are already impassable during rush hour. This plan calls for a total of 640 parking spaces – really???” −Jean Ann Schulte

 

“This ‘cycle friendly amenity’ with seating areas and a covered pavilion will only serve the tenants and employees of the development. I agree that enough is enough. Throwing in some green space as if it benefits the community as a whole is misleading. This project needs to be significantly scaled down.” − Joan Oustifine

 

“They all do that. Throw the community a few bones that very few (if any), residents will ever use or benefit from. As if they’re doing us a great service and favor that we should be thankful for.

Addressing some of the sentiments posted here, I agree that things are getting way out of hand with all the new development, and there’s still more yet to come that dwarfs this one. We’ve reached a tipping point that’s on the verge of consuming and decimating the community if something isn’t done to stop the spread. Enough is ENOUGH!” − John Foley

 

“And we thought WE ALREADY HAD TOO MUCH traffic on Rosedale to Pleasant St. and proceeding east to the Square and west to Bridge St.! What is this going to do to us? And what is it going to do to the traffic on Main St. and more traffic to the Square. What is it going to do to the quality of life in our neighborhoods of single and two-family houses on Acton St. and adjacent streets?

These huge developments should not be allowed anymore. They don’t seem to be helping to keep our taxes lower. These life science jobs probably aren’t ones that local residents will be qualified to work at, and there aren’t enough available houses in the area to keep workers local and prevent them from adding to our existing traffic and congestion issues.” − Joan Gumbleton

 

“Could not agree more. the city needs to hit the pause button and see what the mess they have already approved does to this end of Watertown before allowing more to an already bad situation for residents.” − Maura Gallagher

 

“If only our town councilors started reading these comments! The sentiment from around town and especially this neighborhood is that enough is enough. Please email your town councilors and our town planners ASAP. Make your voices heard. They will tell you that they are working on remodeling the “Comprehensive Plan” but by the time that actually gets done, there won’t be anything left in Watertown to develop, it will all be done already. Every possible space will be snapped up and turned into the standard 5 floor biotech space.

Developers own this town and the council. Our planning department has missed opportunity after opportunity and we the residents get stuck with the aftermath.

This development is too big for the neighborhood. The shadow study as seen in the documents is going to affect dozens of homeowners! This alone should be a red flag!” − Corey Dilon

 

“The response is always the same it’s too late to do anything and yet the residents have urged councilors and planning committee to take action and no one has taken a stance for the neighborhoods and residents. There will be no community or neighborhood structure left with all the traffic and congestion being allowed to invade the West end of Watertown. The quality of life of the constituents does not seem to be the major focus of any of the elected officials or leaders. Time for the council, the city manager and planning boards to stand up and protect our neighborhoods.” − Maura Gallagher

 

“Why is a city of about four square miles now ground zero for biolabs? It is past time for a moratorium on life-science projects. Throwing in trees, green space, and “pavilions” is just developer hucksterism to persuade residents that they should go along with another project that is detrimental to their interests.” − Carolyn A. Gritter

 

“I have and continue to believe that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. Enough is enough with developers telling the residents that they know what’s best for us. Enough is enough with developers incorporating a few “bones” to residents into their project proposals to infer they care about and their projects will enhance our quality of life, our health, our environment, our ability to live in the town our families grew up in.

It’s time (actually I fear it is too late) for Watertown elected officials and responsible boards to take whatever measures are needed to restructure Watertown’s laws and regulations to reduce this onslaught of development to where it can be better managed and monitored and reflect the needs and expectations of residents.” − Dave McDonald

 

“If there is not huge public outcry that is impossible to ignore, then your opinions WILL be ignored as they have been for a decade or more. If we fail to speak up resolutely there will be many more monstrosities.”  − Joe Levendusky

 

“Enough is enough of huge biolabs in Watertown. I have to now look at the monstrosity at 66 Galen St looming over our houses, blocking the horizon, with its creepy windowless top floor and 24/7 filters and scrubbers on top (and its new proposed animal research lab next door).” − Annette Farrell

 

“This building would be taller than the Rock Gym and would be the tallest building along Acton street. A very important fact is that this building would sit across the street from a neighborhood of single and 2-family residences. The scope of this building is out of character and out of line with the neighborhood.”

Another important consideration is there will certainly be a few more properties in this area that will probably be up for sale soon and we assume those too would be converted to large biotech space which would overcrowd and swamp out this neighborhood. One must remember that there are still 2 Bio/Lab buildings to be built (approved) and one can see more properties along Pleasant str also going the route for sale and development.

And to your comment about the town not listening, I think the residents 100% don’t feel supported by the city/town planners and that’s why there are many people speaking up (though it falls on deaf ears).  

With all the new construction, office space conversion, residents are being hemmed in by large and larger developments. If you attended last weeks Comprehensive plan open forum there was pretty a unanimous message to cap these developments and this was definitely down played by our town planners (they said it was a difference in opinion). Albeit by the time this “Comprehensive Plan” is put in place, there will be nothing left for it to govern.” − Corey Dilon

(There are many more online comments of a similar nature that add to this story, but I think you get the point.)

And then came the March 20 meeting, which did little or nothing to calm the frustrations and fears of these commenters or of those who wholeheartedly agree with them. The developers might as well have addressed the room and said:

We are happy to be here this evening to answer your questions and address your concerns because we are required to do this. And we will be happy to come here again and answer your questions and address your concerns but in the end, we will do exactly what we need to do to make this investment pay off the way that we want it to pay off and if you have a problem with that, you should take it up with your elected and appointed officials.

Here's Corey Dilon’s recap of the meeting:

“In case anyone was wondering how the meeting with the developer went, the meeting was well attended, about 40 people in person, 70 or more online (zoom).

What was clear to me was that everyone was concerned about the height, mass and scale of this building abutting a residential neighborhood. Also, major discussions around the size and scale of a 7-floor parking garage were very apparent. There were also considerations around noise, light pollution and usual traffic concerns. Unfortunately a scaled down version of this project did not seem to be up for discussion.

After the previous week’s Comprehensive Planning meeting and last night’s “community” meeting it is very clear to me that the zoning plan for the Pleasant street corridor has allowed buildings like this with zero thought for the abutters.

Steve Magoon and Gideon Schreiber have done zero to help this neighborhood and don’t show initiative to effect immediate changes to allowable building heights, closing the mechanical penthouse loophole, etc. Their two opinions are vastly different than the neighbors and residents of this area (and probably most of Watertown at this point).

Regulations from a decade ago are out of date and out of touch with the pace of development in this town. This 80’ft tall building will be the 1st of many to come to Acton Street, Howard Street and Pleasant street. It’s only a matter of time before Pulpdent and ML Macdonald are up for sale and become yet another big box biotech.

A more thoughtful, neighborhood centric design is possible with smart planning and out of the box thinking, however until then, this neighborhood will forever be in the shadow of the wants and demands of big developers.”

I believe you are nodding in agreement.

 

Watertown is a small city with a townish vibe. Like other cities and towns, it has its own special character. You might even say it has its own soul.

Some would call that nonsense. They would say that Watertown is a small city like any other small city. Those who would say that don’t see what I see and don’t see what many of you see.

For those who believe that all progress is good progress, a neighborhood is just a collection of structures that can be easily replaced by bigger, better, shinier structures.

How do you destroy the soul of a city?

You chip away at its neighborhoods, one street at a time. Or better yet, three or four streets at a time.

You don’t have to level the homes. You just demolish the quality of life within those homes and eventually, those pesky inhabitants – those ungrateful resisters of progress and modernization − will disappear, or at least their sense of neighborhood will.

We are currently in an election year, which uncoincidentally is when elected representatives tend to be at their listening best. You might consider giving them a call. And you might consider visiting them at City Council meetings and addressing this issue at public forum.

It’s not about what district they’re in. It’s about who they are looking out for. Are they too busy drafting world-changing proclamations and searching for ways to make Watertown more welcoming to people who do not live here to take the time to visit the Watertown neighborhood that includes Rosedale Road, Acton Street, Morton Street, Oakland Street, Pilgrim Road, Puritan Road, Falmouth Road, and part of Waltham Street?

Why not ask them?

Sometimes persuasion is about presenting your argument in a calm and logical fashion. But calm and logical arguments can fall on deaf ears.

When that happens, you might consider being blunt.

You might tell them enough is enough in the strongest possible civilized way…

 

Bruce Coltin, The Battle for Watertown