Revitalization Planning
As the City of Watertown moves forward with implementing the Watertown Square Area Plan, the Department of Community Development and Planning (DCDP) has engaged a consultant, Innes Land Strategies, to assist in the critical step of developing a “revitalization plan”.
Through 2025 and 2026, Innes Land Strategies will investigate the development potential of key parcels – including City-owned property identified in the Area Plan vision – and make recommendations for how the City can stimulate new development envisioned in the plan document.
There are two steps to this process. First, building on the Area Plan, a Demonstration Project will examine the potential for redevelopment in a small subset of parcels (or areas of land) and explore what is feasible and what barriers to development exist. The second step is to investigate the larger area of Watertown Square in an Urban Revitalization Plan. These projects are governed by state law, specifically, M.G.L. 121B. The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) has published detailed guidance on what an Urban Revitalization Plan needs to include in order for the Commonwealth with certify it. Learn more about state regulations around urban renewal plans by visiting the Commonwealth’s website or you by checking out the Urban Renewal Regulations.
Understanding the Legal Framework
Urban Revitalization Plans — also called an urban renewal plans — are grounded in legal process and regulations. The existing law M.G.L. 121B outlines the structure, guidelines, and standards by which these processes must follow. The law ensures clear planning standards, a documentation of existing conditions, and the fair treatment of property and business owners. Once the plan is completed, it must be approved by the Redevelopment Authority for the city and City Council before being sent to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities and Massachusetts Environmental Protection Act (MEPA) Office for final approval. The legal name for this work is an “Urban Renewal Plan”, which you may hear or read used throughout this process interchangeably with “Urban Revitalization Plan”.
Understanding Urban Revitalization Plans
Urban Revitalization Plans are undertaken by cities and towns to prepare for revitalization that addresses community driven goals like housing, economic development, and the environment. The revitalization planning process is regulated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, so there is a template that must be followed in order for the State to accept it. The overall outcomes of these plans are a set of strategies of how and where to invest public funds in order to promote the private development and growth envisioned by the town or city through the planning process. An approved plan gives the authority for the City to take the steps within the plan to fulfill the vision for the area.
Redevelopment Authority
A Redevelopment Authority is a public agency that is formed by a governing body to revitalize and/or redevelop an underused or blighted area within a community. A redevelopment authority undertakes projects that the private market cannot undertake on its own. In the 1980s, the redevelopment authority responsibilities were granted to the then Town Council in Watertown. A redevelopment authority is a legal body that has the authority to partner with developers, prepare sites for redevelopment, acquire land, and more as part of an approved revitalization plan. Though the City Council is the Redevelopment Authority in Watertown, their responsibilities as a City Council and Redevelopment Authority are different, with decisions being made as the Redevelopment Authority on a project, as opposed to as an elected body.
The Next Steps of the Process
Step 1
On-Going Now
Demonstration Project
The first step that Innes Land Strategies and the City will work on is something called a “demonstration project”. In this is process the consultants will look at a small area of Watertown Square and review its redevelopment potential from several different perspectives, including an analysis of its real estate value, its economic development opportunity, potential public investment required, its environmental implications, and testing potential buildings on the site.
It is called a “demonstration project” because they start by only looking at a small area of the Square to demonstrate what they will do for the entire Square’s area in the next step.
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Coming out of this first step, the City will have a better understanding of the potential that a single area of the Square might have for future development – whether that be housing, commercial opportunities, open space, or other uses. Once this is completed, they will begin this process for the entire square in Step 2.
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It is likely that this first step will extend through the end of 2025 .
Step 2
Yet to Begin
Urban Revitalization Plan
The second step of this process will be to widen the scope of the “demonstration plan” and complete an analysis of the entire Square area, called an Urban Revitalization Plan. During this process, Innes Land Strategies and their team will apply a similar analysis as the Demonstration Project to the wider Square district, reviewing the opportunities and constraints to development. This includes reviewing infrastructure, the environment, economic development opportunities, and more to answer the questions: “what is possible in the Square? How much would it cost to fulfill the vision in the Plan? And what can the public sector contribute to ensure we are fulfilling that vision?”
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The outcome of this work is an “Urban Revitalization Plan”, which is a detailed set of reviews and strategies of how the City can bring to life the vision outlined in the Watertown Square Area Plan. The contents of this plan are outlined by state regulations and are very technical. This plan will ultimately assist the city in determining where to invest in order to best incentive private development while ensuring that municipal goals are met.
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This step will begin in early 2026 and extend throughout the year. As updates come together, the City will be releasing information and continuing to make updates available here on this website.