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$250,000 Federal Grant Awarded to
'Neighbors' Neighbors of Watertown was awarded a $250,000 federal grant that it will use, for the most part, to reimburse the city of Watertown for what it spent to acquire properties that will be demolished to make way for a renovation project on and near Emerson Place. "It's great news," said Gary C. Beasley, executive director of Neighbors of Watertown. The agency is leading the $4.1 million Emerson Place project, which calls for rehabilitation of the century-old Emerson Row apartment building and renovation of a dozen other houses near the apartments, as well as for the area surrounding Emerson Place. The city bought properties at 109 and 110 Emerson Place and at 711 State St. from Larry V. Silverstein for $197,000. Those properties will be demolished. Neighbors of Watertown purchased a fourth property from Mr. Silverstein at 707 State St. for about $90,000 that it plans to renovate, Mr. Beasley said. The grant "will reduce the city's acquisition costs," Mr. Beasley said. "It will take care of a great portion of the city's expense." The city also is providing more than $339,000 worth of demolition and construction work toward the project. It has applied for a state Community Development Block Grant for $253,000 to pay the bulk of that cost. The city's actual cash outlay, though, would be minimal if the state grant comes in because the city has estimated that it will contribute, but not be reimbursed for, $135,100 of the project's cost through in-kind services, such as labor and equipment provided by the city.
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