Business & Tech

Waltham Retail/Office Totten Pond Road Project Revived

Boston Properties project Totten Pond Road would include restaurants and office space.

Developers are revving a previously proposed retail office complex planed for Totten Pond Road.

Boston Properties is planning to build a new two-building complex at 470 Totten Pond Rd. they say would include restaurants and offices. 

The approved a special permit for the project in 2008, but the project has undergone several changes since then.

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Now, Boston Properties is seeking a special permit to increase the floor-area-ratio, which governs how much floor space a building can have compared to its lot size,  to 1.2. The City Council, on Monday, June 11, extended the public hearing until October, when it is scheduled to be heard again.

NEW vs. OLD PROPOSAL

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  • The proposal now includes two buildings instead of three spanning 425,000 square feet, the same size as the previous version, according to Boston Properties Senior Vice President for Development Michael Cantalupa.
  • Two separate buildings would be constructed instead of three integrated structures, according to Cantalupa. A 232,000 square foot building would be on the west side of the site, while a 193,000 square foot building would be on the east side.
  • Also, a parking garage for 1,448 cars would be constructed, according to Cantalupa.
  • Motorists would access the site through two entrances, one on the north side of the site and the other on the south side, through Prospect Hill Lane, according to according to Boston Properties Vice President for Development Richard Monopoly.
  • Each new building would be six stories, higher than the current three buildings on the site which are up to five stories, according to Monopoly.
  • Also, each building would be constructed simultaneously instead of waiting for one to be completed before starting a new building, as the previous plans called or.
  • The project would now generate approximately $2 million in tax revenue for the city, approximately seven times the amount the previous version would have, according to Cantalupa.

POTENTIAL TENANTS

  • Steak houses and fast casual restaurants have expressed an interest in locating in the new site, according to Cantalupa. He said his company wants to have two eat-in restaurants and two fast-casual locations.

REASONS FOR PROJECT CHANGES

  • Project officials cited several key reasons for reviving the project and its delay.
  • Cantalupa said the city council required his company to wait until the Winter Street bridge was rebuilt. Construction on the bridge began in 2006 and hit several lengthy delays until it was finished late last year.
  • Also, Boston properties wanted to find ways to make the project more attractive and lucrative to potential tenants during the economic recession in 2008, Cantalupa said. Cantalupa also cited surrounding towns changing their zoning bylaws to make them more attractive to developers as another reason Boston Properties had to make the Waltham site more interesting to tenants. 


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