Watertown Council authorizes purchase agreement for former Sterett Lumber at 148 Waltham St.

Watertown City Council on Feb. 25 authorized the city manager to sign a purchase-and-sale agreement to acquire the former Sterett Lumber property at 148 Waltham Street for $9,200,000 plus fees and approved a $500,000 transfer from the council reserve to lock the purchase.

The action followed an extended presentation by City Manager George Proakis, who said the council negotiated a purchase-and-sale agreement requiring a $500,000 deposit and that the city plans to fund the acquisition primarily from certified free cash. “Now we have the possibility to purchase 148 Waltham Street,” Proakis said, describing prior attempts to redevelop the site as housing and later as a permitted lab project and noting that market changes made the current price range feasible for the city.

The purchase matters because the two-acre site previously carried a lab permit that sharply increased its market value during the lab-building boom. Proakis told the council an FY24 appraisal placed the property around…