Assembly Square Infill and Small Developments | Somerville

Ruairi said:
I dunno, East Broadway is looking really well now and it's not too far from the new Partners building. Places like La Brasa and east end grill won't be much further from partners than Earls and Legal seafoods. A lot of people living in Assembly will want to explore East Somerville and visa-versa, this should be made as easy as possible.
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This an also the fact that you aren't dealing with a massive body of water like Eastie or Chelsea, it's just a highway we are talking about. Really the connections already exist to walk or bike - I do it all the time and it's fine, just unpleasant to the point where others probably wouldn't want to do it. Changing that would be of little cost and massive benefit, not just for Assembly but East Somerville, probably more so.

Also it's just hard for me to consider an area truly "urban" if you need motorized transit to get there. Sure there is Eastie but that's a bigger area and more of a self contained urban eco-system. Assembly might get to that point when it's all built out but that's a long way to go and huge swaths are taken up by commercial and retail, reducing what it's total permanent population can be.
 
Awesome to hear these plans finally voiced publicly! Somerville's city government has been considering this for months and Eminent Domain has been bandied about as a boogieman presumably to convince the owners of Assembly Square shopping plaza to consider selling before the government forces the sale. This will be a loong process - Assembly Row is only 1/3 done as designed, but it's great to see long term planning.

The parking lots can be made up for with the same sorts of garages Assembly has already built. Presumably some of the Big Boxes will decided to move back in once redeveloped, and others won't. I figure TJX, Sports Authority, BB&B, and maybe Staples and ACMoore would stay, while Xmas Tree and KMart would tag out. Who knows though... I imagine Home Depot will cut their losses since they have a bigger store almost within eyeshot at Gateway [which should be the next target for urbanization btw...].
 
pixelsand8 said:
This an also the fact that you aren't dealing with a massive body of water like Eastie or Chelsea, it's just a highway we are talking about. Really the connections already exist to walk or bike - I do it all the time and it's fine, just unpleasant to the point where others probably wouldn't want to do it. Changing that would be of little cost and massive benefit, not just for Assembly but East Somerville, probably more so.

Also it's just hard for me to consider an area truly "urban" if you need motorized transit to get there. Sure there is Eastie but that's a bigger area and more of a self contained urban eco-system. Assembly might get to that point when it's all built out but that's a long way to go and huge swaths are taken up by commercial and retail, reducing what it's total permanent population can be.
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I agree. Assembly will be successful regardless, but it won't reach its full potential as a part of the urban fabric unless the city improves its connectivity with East Somerville and Ten Hills. That said, I think the city fully intends to do that, so I'm hopeful for the best. As it is now, Assembly is at auto gridlock on the weekends, and I bet a fair bit of that is local trips. Make turn some of those local trips into foot, bike or bus and the situation will hopefully improve.
 
Having lived in the area for more than a decade, I can say that the 93 underpass crossings to Assembly and the surrounding area are already much improved:

Mystic Ave at Ten Hills (crossings at Shore Drive and Temple Street) - Mystic River mural project continues to expand and beautify these passes. Previously weedy and nasty underpasses are now cleaned up periodically.

Mystic and 28 - This is the worst exchange in the region so no wonder it hasn't seem much improvement--this is the one that could get a lot more love.

Mystic at Stop & Shop - New crossing lights here are a modest improvement. Won't be fully improved so long as you have to go through the grocery store parking lot. However, this is the safest crossing directly to Assembly T stop right now. If we could do it over again, I'd reorient the grocery store so there's a natural and safe walking path from East Somerville to the T stop.

East Broadway - FRIT paid for a mural project. They were wisely realistic about it - it was a rubberized wallpaper rather than an actual wall painting. That allows for quick fixes in response to vandalism. One side got vandalized a month or two after the mural went up and just today I saw that the whole section has been removed (likely to be replaced in the spring).

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I think this area will really be booming if it improves its connectivity to the nearby the Station Landing and Gateway Center area.
 
kjdonovan said:
Having lived in the area for more than a decade, I can say that the 93 underpass crossings to Assembly and the surrounding area are already much improved:

Mystic Ave at Ten Hills (crossings at Shore Drive and Temple Street) - Mystic River mural project continues to expand and beautify these passes. Previously weedy and nasty underpasses are now cleaned up periodically.

Mystic and 28 - This is the worst exchange in the region so no wonder it hasn't seem much improvement--this is the one that could get a lot more love.

Mystic at Stop & Shop - New crossing lights here are a modest improvement. Won't be fully improved so long as you have to go through the grocery store parking lot. However, this is the safest crossing directly to Assembly T stop right now. If we could do it over again, I'd reorient the grocery store so there's a natural and safe walking path from East Somerville to the T stop.

East Broadway - FRIT paid for a mural project. They were wisely realistic about it - it was a rubberized wallpaper rather than an actual wall painting. That allows for quick fixes in response to vandalism. One side got vandalized a month or two after the mural went up and just today I saw that the whole section has been removed (likely to be replaced in the spring).

8yVoZWw.png
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Looking at that map, it looks like Foss Park probably got eaten up by the McGrath - that corner is cut off...

My friend's GF was hit crossing 28 a few weeks ago, almost died... they live in Ten Hills which is now close to the new T stop. Better crossings are needed all over this area - but I am confident and hopeful they will come.

As an aside, I am NOT confident the casino will help this. I hate the idea of the casino and always have, and without a doubt, they casino will be a force that will be very much favoring and pressuring higher speed roads, as well as fostering bigger footprint development that also kills streetlife and makes the streetscape more of a car only place.
 
I drove through that 28/93 interchange and it is certainly not pedestrian friendly. Hell it isn't even car friendly!
 
vanshnookenraggen said:
I drove through that 28/93 interchange and it is certainly not pedestrian friendly. Hell it isn't even car friendly!
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That entire area is a mess. Terrible street lighting, sub-par signage, the overall road quality needs to be improved.
 
I also don't care for the 93 Overpass over Broadway a little further up. The lack of lighting added with the merge added with pedestrians coming out of Sullivan makes for a difficult situation. The cab stand a little further up is also completely poorly designed. It almost always overflows onto Broadway and results in stopped traffic in the middle of the road. Lastly, there's also no easy way for pedestrians to get from Sullivan to the lots across the street without running through traffic. A light here which is synced with the Sullivan rotary light could probably help a lot. Would turn red to allow pedestrians to cross and buses to pull out to make the turn onto Mystic Ave.
 
How much life can the old viaduct between Ten Hills and Rutherford Ave have left? I could see it's replacement getting put underground, or at least in a cut. If coordinated with the Sullivan Square rebuilding project and the eminent domain of the Assembly Square properties you wouldn't even need to demolish most of the viaduct until after the new tunnel / cut is complete.

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The two large issues would be a wall to hold back the Mystic north of Ten Hills, and tying in the Storrow Drive connector, or whatever it's called.
 
davem said:
How much life can the old viaduct between Ten Hills and Rutherford Ave have left? I could see it's replacement getting put underground, or at least in a cut. If coordinated with the Sullivan Square rebuilding project and the eminent domain of the Assembly Square properties you wouldn't even need to demolish most of the viaduct until after the new tunnel / cut is complete.

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The two large issues would be a wall to hold back the Mystic north of Ten Hills, and tying in the Storrow Drive connector, or whatever it's called.
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Davem -- the I-93 double decker is decades younger than the old Central Artery

It was build in the heydey of the Interstate building boom and its opening was halted as part of the Sargent Moratorium -- in fact it only opened because of a Truck Accident on the Tobin that left the old tunnels as the only way into Boston from the north

from the Boston Roads site
http://www.bostonroads.com/roads/northern/
With construction of I-93 well underway by 1970, and with political sentiment growing against new highways, Sargent - now Massachusetts Governor - declared a moratorium on building new highways within MA 128 (Yankee Division Highway). However, the governor made an exception for the final three miles of I-93. According to highway officials, since the final link was being built with 90 percent Federal funds, it appeared less expensive to complete the project for $4 million in state funds than to forfeit the contracts for $10 million.

The final three-mile section of I-93 was completed on February 1, 1973 to little fanfare, but plenty of derision. Initially, full use of the highway was delayed because of an apparent engineering oversight that created a potentially hazardous situation where drivers from right-hand lanes sought to make left-hand exits.
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These 1972 photos show the northbound (left photo) and southbound (right photo) Northern Expressway -- commonly referred to as the "upper and lower decks" of I-93 -- nearing completion through Somerville. The unfinished ramps that were to connect I-93 to the unbuilt Inner Belt Expressway (I-695) are still visible today. In the right photo, the southbound I-93 ramp that was to be used for southbound I-695 was opened as EXIT 26A (MA 28) in 1999. (Photos by Massachusetts Department of Public Works; supplied by Dan Moraseski.)
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A trenched or tunneled replacement is very unlikely because of the proximity of the Mystic River, though I could see a covered trench from Washington Street to 28 being more plausible and also an extremely popular project. Doing the Sullivan Square section without severe disruptions to both commuter rail and Orange Line service would be very difficult, though.
 
Tragic news to start this new year:

From Assembly Row's Facebook just now:

It is with a heavy heart that we share the loss of our friend, colleague and VP General Manager of Assembly Row, Russ Joyner, who sadly has passed away (in the early morning of January 1). Russ was best known for his kind, genuine and uplifting spirit. He had a true love for our neighborhood and each and every person he met in the community. We know he will be sorely missed by all who knew him. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, his wife Brenda and daughter Martina.
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Some wonderful comments:
East Somerville Social
Very sad to hear, Russ was a great friend and partner to all of us at East Somerville Main Streets.
Like · Reply · 3 · 3 hrs

Caitlin Jewell
Horrible news. Without Russ Joyner there would be no American Fresh Assembly Row. His exponential grace, class, patience, creativity and determination brought our family-friendly, locally owned and operated location to fruition. A transplant to Somerville, he sought to understand the community and culture. A huge loss for Somerville today.
Like · Reply · 2 · 3 hrs

Whitney Burrington Charette
Deepest condolences from myself and the entire Avalon team. Russ was an amazing person to work with. My thoughts go out to his family during this difficult time.
Like · Reply · 41 mins

Anthony Radzikowski
Words cannot express how I feel. Simply put, there are not enough people as genuinely kind & caring as Russ. I was just getting to know him and the more i spoke to him the more i liked & respected him. You couldn't help but like this man. My condolences to all at Federal Realty, Assembly Row & especially to Russ' wife & daughter whom he spoke with great fondness of the last time we spoke.
~Anthony, Ernesto's Pizza
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Wow, tough loss there, sounds like he played a big role in making Assembly Row as successful as it's been. Interesting too that he's an ex-NFL player. My thoughts are with his family. 54 is too young.
 
vanshnookenraggen said:
Thanks for the set. I'm not going to get up this way when I swing through town for Christmas so glad you could do it for me. That park on the other side of the tracks will no doubt get reworked once more people start living there. I love that lone fire hydrant in the middle of the field!
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What's interesting is that Assembly wasn't permitted to buy that land and the condition of the purchase was that Assembly would only manage the lawn/landscaping. There's enough room over there for something like a dock, riverside restaurant. Though I hope it's a park.
 
BussesAin'tTrains said:
Awesome to hear these plans finally voiced publicly! Somerville's city government has been considering this for months and Eminent Domain has been bandied about as a boogieman presumably to convince the owners of Assembly Square shopping plaza to consider selling before the government forces the sale. This will be a loong process - Assembly Row is only 1/3 done as designed, but it's great to see long term planning.

The parking lots can be made up for with the same sorts of garages Assembly has already built. Presumably some of the Big Boxes will decided to move back in once redeveloped, and others won't. I figure TJX, Sports Authority, BB&B, and maybe Staples and ACMoore would stay, while Xmas Tree and KMart would tag out. Who knows though... I imagine Home Depot will cut their losses since they have a bigger store almost within eyeshot at Gateway [which should be the next target for urbanization btw...].
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I live in Assembly and can see two different Home Depots from my parking garage. It's sad, I'm assuming the one at Assembly has the benefit of I-93 traffic seeing it.
 
FK4 said:
Looking at that map, it looks like Foss Park probably got eaten up by the McGrath - that corner is cut off...

My friend's GF was hit crossing 28 a few weeks ago, almost died... they live in Ten Hills which is now close to the new T stop. Better crossings are needed all over this area - but I am confident and hopeful they will come.

As an aside, I am NOT confident the casino will help this. I hate the idea of the casino and always have, and without a doubt, they casino will be a force that will be very much favoring and pressuring higher speed roads, as well as fostering bigger footprint development that also kills streetlife and makes the streetscape more of a car only place.
Click to expand...

Couple of things, Assembly Row and Sullivan are a couple thousand feet away. Driverless cars. 30+ million invested in improving traffic with the casino. All of these will make the casino a better long term investment.
 
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