Cresset breaks ground on 118,000 s/f renovations at 65 Grove Street, Watertown, Mass. - Fitzgerald of CBRE/NE is exclusive leasing professional

Watertown, MA According to CBRE/New England, on behalf of its client Cresset, the groundbreaking on the renovations of 118,000 s/f at 65 Grove St. has taken place. Purchased from GE Ionics in 2014, the property was originally built in 1945 as a three-story office and R&D manufacturing facility. Situated on a 3.5 acre lot, all base building renovations are scheduled to be complete by the spring of 2016 including a new 300 car parking garage. The Watertown/Greenway bike trail is adjacent to 65 Grove St. and, when completed in 2016, it will connect Watertown Sq. with Fresh Pond and the Charles River Basin.

65 Grove Street - Watertown, MA

The renovation includes LEED certifiable standards with all new windows and a glass façade, new roof, the installation of state-of-the-art mechanical/electrical systems and a complete redesign of the exterior grounds and parking areas. The plan for the interior is to reflect creative office space trends including high ceilings, tulip columns, and glass curtain walls.

“65 Grove Street is great for office and R&D tenants seeking spaces similar to those in Cambridge and Boston but in a new fully renovated building that offers free on-site parking and access to public transportation,” said CBRE/NE’s Robert Fitzgerald, who is Cresset’s exclusive leasing professional for the building.

“Watertown is strategically located between a cluster of towns such as Cambridge, Lexington and Longwood Medical Area. The location, access to transit and area amenities make the town a great alternative for companies looking to locate close to these innovation clusters. Watertown is poised to be a relief valve for the Cambridge and neighboring suburbs with five speculative projects planned for the market in 2015. Of these, 65 Grove Street is the first to begin construction.”

65 Grove Street - Watertown, MA

With construction fully underway, the developer has released additional renderings of the property and surrounding environs, which illustrate Cresset’s commitment to reposition 65 Grove St. and improve the immediate neighborhood street scape surrounding the property.

“In order to take full advantage of the building’s concrete frame and generous floor to floor heights, we decided to introduce a glass curtain wall in lieu of the masonry exterior to highlight the potential for exposed ceilings with incredible light and air,” said Cresset president Ed Nardi. “We’ve also created a higher parking ratio with a new parking structure, which in turn allows us to provide significant landscaping features – a benefit to both tenants and abutters.”

Tocci Building Companies will provide construction management services throughout the renovation of 65 Grove St.