Waltham Center has been going through a transformation due to the creation of MERC at Moody and Main St. The old Athena Health office building below will be torn down to create luxury housing, right across from the Waltham Common.
The MERC is a new development by Northland. This is an amazing project of 269 apartments aiming at Millennials so they can live in an urban style, but outside of Boston in a smaller community, close to the highways and suburban office market.
From their project website you would read: “The Merc at Moody & Main is Northland’s newest, transit-oriented apartment community. Located in the heart of downtown Waltham, it’s a short walk to shops, restaurants, museums, the Town Common, and an extensive array of transit options to downtown Boston, Route 128 and beyond.
“The architecture and design evoke and respect the historic character of downtown Waltham while providing exciting, modern, energy-efficient, sustainable living. The ground floor shops and restaurants further enhance the neighborhood and living experience of residents.”
The new development follows on the successful redevelopment of the old Grover Cronin department store in the 1990’s which re-vitalized Moody St and began to help Waltham take advantage of the amazing Charles River as an amenity for residents.
You can launch a canoe or kayak from the landing right next to Moody St.
Looking from the north side of the Charles south to Cronin’s Landing. Moody St. bridge on left.
The dam at Moody St. as seen from the bridge. The old mill building and Museum of Industry is to the left – you can just see the chimney. Boston is straight down the river – passing Watertown and Cambridge on the north and Newton and Allston on the south.
Waltham has a historic common where the City Hall and other important buildings used to reign. Now the MERC w/ hundreds of new residents will have this feature as their front yard.
There is a lot of history in Waltham – from the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the industrial revolution all the way up to today’s developments as part of the Greater Boston region.
Downtown Waltham is on the MBTA Commuter Rail – the Fitchburg line. The station stop is on the south side of the Common, right at Moody St! It is 12 minutes to Porter Square in Cambridge to catch the Red Line to Kendall Sq (another 9 mins) and 20 mins to North Station in Boston. Trains are fairly regular every hour, more in the morning rush hour.
It is exciting to see this new development going up in Waltham and it will help the City continue to attract bright young people who want to work in the high-tech industry. These folks will become customers of the many small businesses in the area and help improve the innovation economy!
But brace yourself, the MERC ain’t cheap:
- Studio starts at $2,100 per month;
- 1 Bedroom starts at $2,145
- 2 Bedroom starts at $2,845
- 3 Bedroom starts at $3,645
These are RENTS! If you were looking for a condo or a nice house near Waltham Center, you should be looking to buy right now!