MBTA
The New Assembly Row MBTA Stop Is Opening Soon
Just a few more weeks to go.
By Steve Annear | Boston Daily | August 15, 2014 1:52 pm
Image via MBTA
Image via MBTA
Next stop: Somerville.
An MBTA official confirmed Friday that the new Assembly Square T Station will be welcoming riders to the Assembly Row mixed-use redevelopment site real soon, so they can shop, peruse the Legoland display, and check out an array of eateries, without having to rely on a car to get there.
“It will be open to the public within a few weeks,” said T spokesman Joe Pesaturo.
An exact date was not specified, but passengers should expect to have access to the new stop before month’s end. The T will meet its scheduled August target date, debuting the new stop in Somerville “before every last element of the project is finished in the fall.”
The “substantial completion” of the overall project, which will make it the 20th stop along the Orange Line, is slated for sometime in November.
Somerville officials said Friday that the date of the opening in conjunction with MBTA officials “should be finalized very soon,” and could come as early as next Monday.
The multi-million dollar Assembly Square MBTA stop, paid for through a public-private partnership with state and federal agencies, as well as the developer, Federal Realty Investment Trust, has been in the works for years, leading to weekend train diversions and bus replacement services that left many passengers frustrated during their commute.
Once opened, the Assembly station will add an extra stop along the T’s Orange Line, just past Sullivan Square, making it the first Somerville stop accessible by that specific train line, and the first rapid transit stop added in more than two decades.
“The people of Somerville fought for this station,” said Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone. “We made the case that this was the right thing to do for our community and that it was smart business infrastructure investment for the state.”
The construction of the new station was part of the Assembly Row redevelopment project, a massive overhaul of a large-scale piece of property that sits on the outskirts of Somerville, just beyond I-93. Aside from the designated MBTA stop that carries passengers in from Boston or Malden, the Assembly Row project has included the addition of The Somerville Brewing Company’s 60-seat, open-air beer garden, new housing properties, an updated movie theatre, and a Legoland Discovery Center.
Other retailers and outlets such as an Adidas store, Brooks Brothers, Charlotte Russe, Chico’s Outlet, Clark’s, Converse Factory Store, Kay Jewelers Outlet, Le Creuset, Luggage Factory, and Orvis have been opening on a rolling basis down at the site of the new development.
According to an announcement made by Somerville city officials back in May, at the start of the summer, by the end of September, a total of 32 stores and restaurants will be ready for the public as the first phase of the $1.5 billion redevelopment project comes to an end. An additional 10 new tenants are slated to open just in time for Black Friday in November.
