Watertown Square Area Plan Watertown, MA

With a multi-disciplinary team of consultants, the City of Watertown developed an ambitious plan for Watertown Square that integrates physical and human-centered aspects of the study area, including streets, sidewalks, open spaces, and the buildings that define and activate them. Watertown will achieve this goal through the comprehensive integration of two factors: a design vision for the public realm that will be implemented by the City of Watertown using a range of funding sources; and a design vision for future buildings that will be implemented primarily by private landowners as a result of a new zoning code. These new regulations both meet the requirements of the MBTA Communities Act and provide a regulatory framework that responds to the comprehensive urban design vision developed during the planning process.

Landwise supported this process by characterizing the current state of development activity and detailing potential market opportunities which reinforced the idea that retail needs housing. Feasibility analysis backed the test-fits of redevelopment concepts on soft-sites. Case studies were prepared to illustrate how retail pavilions could activate newly created public space that would result from traffic reconfigurations. With roots and office space in Watertown, Landwise understood the impetus for the plan and was uniquely positioned to participate in the public engagement process and development of recommendations.

Highlight: CNU New England Urbanism Award Winner