Assembly Square Infill and Small Developments | Somerville

[pixelsand8]

 

[George_Apley]

That's pretty impressive, by my eye.

 

[pixelsand8]

That's pretty impressive, by my eye.

The development itself is looking really good. The problem is that it's completely disconnected from everything around it. It will be really interesting to see how this plays out in the longer term.

 

[George_Apley]

The development itself is looking really good. The problem is that it's completely disconnected from everything around it. It will be really interesting to see how this plays out in the longer term.

I think it will play out fine. It will be fairly disconnected from Somerville foot-traffick, since neither Route 28 nor I-93 are going anywhere. It should have plenty of residents, Orange Line visitors and driving visitors to fuel the commercial venues.

 

[underground]

I'll admit to having been really skeptical about the architecture here, thinking it'd turn out more like one of those "Lifestyle Malls" or whatever they're calling them nowadays. It's looking really nice though, so I'm getting cautiously optimistic.

In terms of connecting to the rest of the neighborhood, that's definitly still a work in progress. I drove up Rutherford Ave to Mystic Ave, going all the way up to West Medford, and that whole area is a mess. Luckily the McGrath grounding, and Rutherford Ave & Sullivan Sq redesign are already underway, but it's going to take a lot of work.

 

[George_Apley]

^ It's definitely a more long-term goal. In the medium-term though, I think Assembly Row will be quite successful on its own merits.

 

[fattony]

There is a lot more adjacent land to build up the neighborhood before it needs to connect across the highways that pen it in.

I think it is looking great.

 

[Shepard]

Small variations in height, fine details, mixed use... my god, this looks like a streetscape.

 

[atlantaden]

Wow! Very, very nice! Looks like this is being done up right. This is what South Bay should have been though I think the idea of lifestyle centers was just a few years away from when South Bay was built.

 

[Ron Newman]

I-93 isn't going anywhere, but the city and state made a mistake in widening Route 28 next to Assembly Square. A good long-term plan would be to reduce this back to its original four lanes.

 

[George_Apley]

I-93 isn't going anywhere, but the city and state made a mistake in widening Route 28 next to Assembly Square. A good long-term plan would be to reduce this back to its original four lanes.

Right. And Route 28 is probably due for some downgrading once McGrath comes down. I definitely won't enjoy the traffic that ensues without the nasty-ass highway there (I enjoy being able to get from Union Square to Lechmere in less than 5 minutes...), but I also want Somerville to get stiched back together.

 

[ant8904]

First I have to ask, when was Route 28 next to Assembly Sq 4 lanes? I'm not familiar with that section's history. To my knowledge, the area was always removed from Somerville as it was long been an industrial area. The multi-lane mess from from Wellington Circle onward is more than 2 lanes because of the greater demands as it approach towards the city (like a river getting bigger as tributary rivers feeds it down the war). Unlike McGrath overpass, it was not an example of urban renewal or shoving something that seperate something that was once connected.

That said, the mess can be greatly reworked. Ramps from I-93 can go out better. There are multiple lane drops and short lane gains in the area. I suspect this area is a great candidates for underpasses too (Wellington Circle area) keeping traffic capacity while much more urban fabric friendly. I'm not sure 2 lanes is reasonable. But it is the current footprint is likely extremely inefficient (as it takes even more than a 6 lane highway), even reducing those aspects would probably help a lot.

 

[kjdonovan]

The development itself is looking really good. The problem is that it's completely disconnected from everything around it. It will be really interesting to see how this plays out in the longer term.

The buildout of the development, regardless of where it ends up, is starting off on the right foot by orienting itself along a natural barrier (the Mystic) rather than unnatural ones like the surrounding highways, strip malls, and rail lines. They're doing great given the limitations to integrate this phase 1 development with the neighborhoods (footbridge under 28; Colorful mural at the 93 underpass by Sullivan).

 

[chumbolly]

This is kind of amazing. Perhaps a little Disney, but they definitely seem to be getting this right, if not perfect. This substantially exceeds my expectations. The undoubtedly faux stone facade on the building with the ivy motif is actually convincing, and blows the Seaport Precast (TM) out of the water. My only concern is the retail focus on outlets--maybe over time this will become more of an organic neighborhood with grocery stores and spas and similar to serve residents. In terms of being isolated, that's definitely a concern, but I'm confident that Somerville, and the state, are of the mindset that these are problems to fixed. All you really need is one pedestrian and bike friendly corridor under the 93 linking to the Winter Hill area, and one going South towards Union and North Point to substantially improve the interconnectedness.

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

I don't care if it's a little Disney, it's the most truly urban development in the Boston area and one that is likely to win awards for TOD and urban planning.

 

[davem]

I don't think its so much Disney as a throwback to classic design conventions. Unlike that banal amusement park, this doesn't copy so much as emulate a classic main street. I've been saying this for ever, but its all in the windows. And the windows throughout this project are awesome.

Also, what a win for the climate; it looks good even on a terrible day. The quality materials they chose look like they will age very well too. I can't wait until this opens, I will save final judgement until I can actually walk through it complete, but so far this looks like the best large scale development I have seen yet. Somerville really hit a home run here.

 

[chumbolly]

When I said above that this is a little Disney, I didn't really mean that as a knock. They're creating a varied, quality streetscape that I think is intended to look like it evolved over time, as opposed to being plopped down all at once. Which made me think of Disney at its best. A little bit of artifice, but I'm liking the smoke they're blowing.

 

[datadyne007]

I drove through Assembly Square the other day and got a glimpse of this up close for the first time in a while. It really does feel like its own little city. There's excellent streetscaping, the architecture is decent, building heights are varied, the facades are detailed...

I'm not banking on Assembly Square ever being knitted back into Somerville and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. They are actually creating their own town here, complete with a new T station!

 

[choo]

Yes, I mean it will have 5000 residents and 5000 workers. In many ways, it is its own section of town. Self-sustaining and then some. Looks like high quality construction and density (although it is built as a destination). But still, I would take some of this style down seaport and southie in a heartbeat.

 

[davem]

When I said above that this is a little Disney, I didn't really mean that as a knock. They're creating a varied, quality streetscape that I think is intended to look like it evolved over time, as opposed to being plopped down all at once. Which made me think of Disney at its best. A little bit of artifice, but I'm liking the smoke they're blowing.

Something "being Disney" isn't necessarily a good or a bad thing, which I think is why it's come to be an adjective in and of itself. Its just that very fine line between which something is organic versus artificial and contrived. The details are where this really matters, and Elkus Manfredi hit the nail on the head. (My only real gripe is that the cornices are still more PoMo than anything, but at least there ARE cornices. And if something had to be value engineered, I'm glad it was at the top of the building instead of the street level materials).


Does anyone know if all the retail space is preleased? If they preleased say, 75% of the space to outlets but left some vacant that might drive cafes, a dry cleaner, convenience store and other necessities of life to open. Than again, sometimes if you build it they still won't come. Charlesview's retail is still 100% unoccupied. I was really hoping we would get a place with decent coffee on this side of the pike, but so far nothing seems to be interested.

edit: HAH! In the irony to end all ironys, Elkus Manfredi is who did Downtown Disney.