COR Development Co. cleared a final hurdle on Monday night when the City Council approved the site plan for the redevelopment of the former Mercy Hospital site. [Read more…]
Mercy project clears zoning approval
The redevelopment of the former Mercy Hospital site cleared a major hurdle on Wednesday night when the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals approved a compromise that allows for an urban feel for the project and room for potential future widening of Arsenal Street. [Read more…]
Mercy project’s site plans to go before Planning Board
The city’s Planning Board will take a first look today at COR Development Co.’s $30 million redevelopment of the old Mercy Hospital site. [Read more…]
Community shows enthusiasm for city’s downtown revitalization application

Mayor Joseph M. Butler Jr. speaks at a rally for the $10 million downtown initiative competition that Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is holding. Photo by Amanda Morrison, Watertown Daily Times.
Mayor Joseph M. Butler Jr. called for the crowd to make noise on Thursday at a pep rally to show support for the city’s efforts to win a $10 million award from the state. [Read more…]
City finishing up $10 million downtown application
City officials are putting together the final touches on an application for a $10 million award from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative program. [Read more…]
Retiring city planner helped Watertown grow in his 30 years

Watertown City Planning and Community Development Coordinator Kenneth A. Mix retired Wednesday after 30 years of service. Photo by Amanda Morrison, Watertown Daily Times.
Kenneth A. Mix now knows what happens to rubber bands after they’ve been lost in a desk for 30 years.
Mr. Mix, 55, the city’s planning and community development coordinator, learned they become brittle and fall apart, something he discovered while cleaning out his desk in his City Hall office while preparing to retire on Wednesday. [Read more…]
Watertown Trust approves incentive program for downtown business district
The downtown business district will be getting another shot in the arm from the Watertown Local Development Corp. [Read more…]
COR outlines progress of Mercy Hospital project
COR Development Co. plans to start the first phase of construction at the former Mercy Hospital site this summer with 108 apartments and 30,000 square feet of commercial space. [Read more…]
January 2016 20 Questions: Joseph M. Butler Jr., City of Watertown
Charting a new course

Joseph M. Butler Jr., talks about his vision for Watertown during an interview in the conference room at his Community Bank office on the eve of his swearing-in as mayor of the City of Watertown. Photo by Stephen Swofford, NNY Business.
Mayor Joseph M. Butler Jr. shares his
vision for a city that celebrates its victories
On the eve of his swearing-in as mayor of Watertown, Joseph M. Butler Jr. is decidedly optimistic about the city’s future while talking about its challenges. In short order, he hopes to see a city where people talk more about “our victories over drugs opposed to our defeats.” He also envisions a downtown “that flourishes morning, noon, afternoon and evening.” After serving two terms as a city councilman, the 48-year-old financial advisor took the same oath of office on Jan. 1 that his father, Joseph M. Butler Sr., took in 2000. We sat down with the young mayor hours before he began a new four-year term, taking the reins from the same man the elder Mr. Butler defeated in 1999 to become mayor. [Read more…]