Boylston Properties is planning to construct a 148-room Marriott Residence Inn on the former Charles River Saab site on Arsenal St., a new extended-stay hotel in an underserved area that will have amenities including a pool, fitness center, and a top-floor lounge and balcony with views of Boston and the Charles River.
The planned six-floor hotel will feature a meeting room for guests, dining room for daily breakfast and evening socials, a small guest marketplace, guest laundry facilities, a business center, and a lounge with seating for hotel guests and visitors.
"A quality place for visitors to stay and residents to meet and enjoy is just what Watertown needs in an area that is improving by the day," said William McQuillan, founder and president of Boylston Props.
The architect for the Marriott Residence Inn is ADD Inc, in partnership with Group One Architects. Engineering and landscape design will be done by Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc., which is located in Watertown.
Construction is anticipated to start late this year or early 2015. The project will take 14 months to complete, with an expected opening in the first quarter of 2016.
"This is a fantastic site close to a lot of great amenities, and it's a market we've looked to be in for quite a while," said Tom Onken, senior vice president of North America Lodging/Select Services Extended Stay Hotels for Marriott International. "We think we're bringing the right product, and it's perfect for Watertown."
Boylston Props. will seek a special permit from the town over the next few months.
"This would be a great benefit to the community," said Mark Sideris, president of the Watertown Town Council. "It will significantly improve the former Charles River Saab site and bring needed hotel space to the community. It will also bring additional tax revenue to the town."
"I'm excited to be able to see this come to fruition, because I think it's a major benefit for our community," Sideris said.
The building will be designed and constructed to a high level of sustainability, with energy-saving measures in HVAC, lighting and groundwater systems, in addition to employing sustainable construction and management practices.
"The opportunity to have a hotel project here in Watertown is an exciting opportunity," said Steve Magoon, director of Community Development and Planning for Watertown. "We have consistently heard through our economic development and comprehensive planning processes about the need for a hotel from residents and businesses."
In a joint venture, Boylston Properties acquired two properties in Watertown last summer, including the Arsenal Mall (now known as The Arsenal Project) and the Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates building, from Simon Property Group, Inc. The neighborhood is poised to undergo distinct improvement, with the change in ownership of The Arsenal Project.
After almost 15 years of business in the town of Watertown, the acquisition of the mall and development of the former Charles River Saab site adds to Boylston Properties' Watertown portfolio, which already includes nearby One Arsenal,located at 617 Arsenal St.
In 2000, focusing on Watertown and its considerable potential, Boylston Props. and partner The Cambridge Company bought and renovated a warehouse on Coolidge Avenue, transforming it into a laboratory headquarters for V.I. Technologies, Inc., or Vitex.
In 2004, the two companies master-leased One Arsenal, just east of the Arsenal Mall, from Simon, purchasing the property in 2009. One Arsenal is occupied by a parking garage, office and restaurant space occupied by Miller's Ale House.
In 2000, Boylston developed Wellesley Gateway, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care's headquarters, at the intersection of Rtes. 128 and 9, in a joint venture with The Druker Co.