Polaroid Affirms Proposed Norwood Film Processing Complex Despite Watertown Expansion-August 31, 1966

Amid swirling local speculation, Polaroid Corporation officials have officially confirmed that the company’s recent announcement to acquire a 53-acre site in Watertown will have no negative impact on its ongoing efforts to establish a multi-million-dollar facility in Norwood.

According to Dave W. Skinner, vice president and general manager of the corporation, Polaroid’s rapid corporate growth over the preceding year had pushed its existing Cambridge and Waltham facilities to their spatial limits, necessitating simultaneous expansion in multiple communities. Skinner emphasized that the operations planned for Norwood were entirely distinct from those slated for Watertown, noting that the proposed nine-building Norwood complex was specifically intended to absorb overflow expansion from Waltham, while the Watertown site would accommodate growth from Cambridge.

Legal Battles Over Zoning Appeal

Over a year prior, Polaroid first proposed constructing a film processing plant on a sprawling 200-acre site spanning the former Forbes Estate between Washington Street and Clapboardtree Street. Although town meeting voters successfully rezoned the property to limited manufacturing to welcome the corporate investment, the project hit legal roadblocks when 13 local abutters contested the zoning change in court.

While a lower court previously ruled in favor of the town, the plaintiffs appealed the decision to the state Supreme Judicial Court. Community relations manager Robert Palmer stated that the high court was expected to hear arguments in January, keeping town officials and corporate leaders awaiting a final legal resolution before breaking ground.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger