PCA Master Plans, Designs Former Mall Site for Boylston Properties and The Wilder Companies
Cambridge-based architecture and interior design firm PCA announced the completion of their placemaking and design work at Arsenal Yards, the emerging new neighborhood in the heart of Watertown’s East End at the site of the former Arsenal Mall. Working with the project’s development partners Boylston Properties and The Wilder Companies, PCA master planned the entire seven-building, one million square foot mixed-use destination, and designed its vibrant urban village, residences, and open spaces.
The new neighborhood brings together an eclectic mix of live, work, and play environments including more than 50 retailers and restaurants, 108,000 square feet of lab and office space, 300 apartment residences, and a 146-room hotel. Anchoring the neighborhood are two original Arsenal brick buildings, authentically restored to their original character and size. Retail stores and restaurants spill out into the outdoor areas and green spaces, blurring the lines of inside and outdoor experiences to invite passersby in and activate the neighborhood’s public realm. Walkwayswind through Arsenal Yards and connect residents and visitors to the River Green, Watertown’s Arsenal Park, and the bike and pedestrian path along the Charles River.
“From the earliest stages of our planning and community conversations, we realized the opportunity was to not only reimagine the Arsenal property, but to also make a great public space, a destination where people want to return to,” said Eric Brown, AIA, Principal at PCA. “Fulfilling that goal led to a focus on designing an active pedestrian experience with walkways and sightlines that create the feel of a comfortable village center.”
In addition to master planning for the hotel and the 10-story lab building, PCA provided full design services, including the interiors and tenant amenity spaces, for Arsenal Yards’ residential buildings and the planning and design of structured parking for 1200 cars. The PCA-designed Arsenal Yards residences, Blvd & Bond Apartments, is comprised of a mix of studio, one, two, and three-bedroom apartments. Roof decks, integrated as part of the residential buildings, provide an outdoor respite and a place to entertain. Additional amenity spaces include a fitness center, a work from home area, game room and adjoining lounge spaces, and a communal kitchen that connects to the rooftop action.
“Our partnership with the PCA team is a fruitful one that has evolved over the many years it took to plan and design Arsenal Yards,” said Bill McQuillan, Founding Principal of Boylston Properties. “We are excited about the economic impact and opportunities this project will have for the City of Watertown and the surrounding businesses and industries in the Greater Boston area.”
In creating this new urban village, PCA drew upon its decades of placemaking experience, planning, and designing destination retail-centered mixed-use developments, including Legacy Place in Dedham, MarketStreet Lynnfield, and The Street in Chestnut Hill. Tom Wilder, President of the Wilder Companies noted, “We knew that curating and positioning the right tenants would make for a great retail shopping experience. To accomplish this, we brought in PCA right from the start due to their significant experience with retail placemaking.”
The Arsenal property, built as a complex of munition manufacturing buildings supplying the US Army, is a prominent historic landmark along the Charles River in Watertown. Prior to its acquisition by Boylston Properties and The Wilder Companies, the site was home to the 1983-built Arsenal Mall, an enclosed shopping concourse in a years-long decline.
About Boylston Properties – Boylston Properties is a Boston-based real estate developer of mixed-use places including retail, residential, hotel, corporate, and life science buildings. With four decades of experience and a contemporary vision, their distinctive projects have become part of Greater Boston’s new urban landscape. For more information, please visit www.boylstonproperties.com.
About Wilder Companies – Wilder Companiesis a Boston-based real estate development, management and leasing firm specializing in the positioning of retail properties. Privately held and owner-managed, Wilder’s mission continues to be to create vibrant shopping places that meet and exceed the expectations of customers, retailers, and investors. From lifestyle centers and urban properties to community centers and mixed-use developments.
Wilder has developed, managed, and leased over 20 million square feet of retail properties throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. The company continues to have a diverse portfolio of properties throughout the East Coast including Greater Boston’s Arsenal Yards, Silver Spring Square in Pennsylvania, and Daniels Marketplace in Fort Myers, Florida.
About PCA – Founded in 1982, PCA is recognized as one of Greater Boston’s largest, most responsive and innovative design firms. The firm’s creative staff brings an uncommon blend of business insight and creative problem-solving to each of our projects. With expertise in architecture, planning and interior design, the results speak for themselves: thoughtful, award-winning design that has generated one success after another for our clients — projects that both thrive in the marketplace and bring lasting value to our community.
