Assembly Square Infill and Small Developments | Somerville

Plenty of open space just waiting to be developed ... much of it just happens to have cars rushing by in a chasm.

I'm not a fan of giant blocks of development though anyway. That doesn't make sense in a city. You need to integrate into the existing environment, not create a whole bubble world. And there's plenty of room for well-integrated development in Boston.
 
Matthew said:
Plenty of open space just waiting to be developed ... much of it just happens to have cars rushing by in a chasm.

I'm not a fan of giant blocks of development though anyway. That doesn't make sense in a city. You need to integrate into the existing environment, not create a whole bubble world. And there's plenty of room for well-integrated development in Boston.
Click to expand...

Mathew -- you just essentially contradicted yourself in one pair of sentences -- if you want to build on air rights over the Turnpike "much of it just happens to have cars rushing by in a chasm"

on a very expensive air-right platform you are not likely to be able to do small scale piecemeal development which you seem to favor -- "I'm not a fan of giant blocks of development though anyway. That doesn't make sense in a city."

You essentially have to incorporate into the equation the large essentially fixed cost of building over the Pike -- that necessitates an expensive and large scale development.

The best opportunity for the small scale integrated into the fabric is about 10 years from now when the major parcels in the Seaport / Innovation District are all done and the reamaining small blocks, infill, etc. are still there if you can work around their limitations
 
Not contradictory. Different locations. Over the Pike, there's not much choice ... it has to be big as you say. Fine.

But there's plenty of opportunities in Boston, on regular land, to do good infill. Every single story craptastic retail building in pretty much every inner urban neighborhood that was built in the 20th century -- opportunity. Vacant lots in Roxbury, JP and Allston -- opportunity. Melnea Cass Blvd, Newmarket, Sullivan Square -- opportunities there too. There's even stuff going up in East Fenway and Back Bay as we speak. Clearly, they found a way.
 
I'm eagerly awaiting the opening of Assembly Row because, unlike much of Newmarket or even adjacent Sullivan Square, this area will actually be an attractive, car-free place to visit at even a modest build-out.

The river park is surprisingly attractive, even now, and the path system neatly ties into a growing chain along the Mystic, eventually connecting to the Minuteman path to the west, Bike to the Sea (Northern Strand) to the north, and the HarborWalk to the east. Add in new station and (eventually) new trains and you got yerself a nice area regardless of your habits--work, shop, eat, live, play. Northpoint and Sullivan have some of these perks (metro access, future path access, and in Northpoint's favor it has direct Boston access). But the river really does make Assembly Square feel special.

This isn't just some 128 development cloned a few miles closer to the city center. There's viable links to the rest of the urban landscape.

If you're of the persuasion I recommend kayaking from this point up the Malden River to where Tufts' newish boat house is. Some great stuff going on river-wise around here.
 
Photos from Friday.




My photos, attribution required for reuse. Click for full versions / file information page.
 
kjdonovan said:
I'm eagerly awaiting the opening of Assembly Row because, unlike much of Newmarket or even adjacent Sullivan Square, this area will actually be an attractive, car-free place to visit at even a modest build-out.
Click to expand...

From I93 and MA 28 its looking very good--I'd say it was "enough done" for some kind of soft opening. Any word on when things will start opening for business?
 
Right now it looks like a giant parking garage with a little bit of building wrapped around it.
 
Arlington said:
From I93 and MA 28 its looking very good--I'd say it was "enough done" for some kind of soft opening. Any word on when things will start opening for business?
Click to expand...

Late spring/early summer for the first businesses. Legoland, for example, opens the end of May. T stop comes online mid summer.
 
From MBTA site: http://www.mbta.com/about_the_mbta/t_projects/default.asp?id=22873

As of February 2014, the Assembly Station project has completed the track throw and retaining wall milestones. The track throw diverted the train traffic to the east to allow for the station structures to be built. The retaining wall will support the new southbound track, which is to be constructed in Summer 2014.


The following construction activities have been completed:

Concrete pile installation
Concrete foundations
Precast platforms
Structural steel

The following construction activities are in progress:

Roofing
Curtain wall framing
MEP rough
Elevator/escalator construction
Precast canopy installation
 
Semass said:
From MBTA site: http://www.mbta.com/about_the_mbta/t_projects/default.asp?id=22873

As of February 2014, the Assembly Station project has completed the track throw and retaining wall milestones. The track throw diverted the train traffic to the east to allow for the station structures to be built. The retaining wall will support the new southbound track, which is to be constructed in Summer 2014.


The following construction activities have been completed:

Concrete pile installation
Concrete foundations
Precast platforms
Structural steel

The following construction activities are in progress:

Roofing
Curtain wall framing
MEP rough
Elevator/escalator construction
Precast canopy installation
Click to expand...

Wow, the T really needs to work on making their project pages' language a bit more accessible. No wonder most people feel like they don't know what's going on.

Also, the header photo on that project page is a rendering of the Union Square Green Line Extension stop, not Assembly Square...
 
DigitalSciGuy said:
Wow, the T really needs to work on making their project pages' language a bit more accessible. No wonder most people feel like they don't know what's going on.

Also, the header photo on that project page is a rendering of the Union Square Green Line Extension stop, not Assembly Square...
Click to expand...

Honestly, as someone inside the AEC industry, I would be frustrated if they left out all of those specific terms or dumbed them down. Really the only people who care about the phase of construction of a T stop (beyond "is it done?" and/or "when will it be done?") are people who are in the AEC industry so the info might as well be available to them.
 
12786525254_9e6c2e33b2_b.jpg


12786526494_8e797b0bbc_b.jpg


12786195193_01e4957d31_b.jpg


12786199793_62f86d35e8_b.jpg


12786097025_9062e5524f_b.jpg


12786201113_d747528ac4_b.jpg


12786522524_33965899c2_b.jpg


12786190833_6710becede_b.jpg
 
That first picture looks very promising. Buildings taller than street width? Check. What appears to be ground level street interaction that is differentiated from the buildings above? Check. A good mix of facade materials? Check. This could turn out very nicely.
 
kjdonovan said:
Intersection at the edge of Assembly Square ranked most dangerous intersection in Massachusetts:
http://somerville.patch.com/groups/...e-intersection-ranked-most-dangerous-in-state
Click to expand...

As someone who commutes through that intersection both direction daily, I have to say I'm surprised. It is hardly a joy, but it doesn't seem all that dangerous and I cannot recall the last time I saw an accident there.

I suppose that goes to show that anyone's personal experience is strictly anecdotal. You have to quantitatively analyze these types of things to get an accurate assessment.
 
I can see it. The expressway and acute angles at some corners obscure vision causing disorientation, and it can be confusing to know what lane goes where. The signage is not great, especially coming in from the south. Throw in the high speeds and congestion and you have a potentially bad mix.
 
Driving through it is a piece of cake compared to walking it. I've tried. It is de-humanizing.
 
I walked from Stop and Shop to the Assembly Sq Outlets once. Getting across Mystic Ave wasn't a problem, what to do on the other side was - it's not very intuitive. I think I tried taking a shortcut across La Quinta's parking lot by hoping their pathetic fence but got cock blocked somewhere along the way. I don't remember the details other than some urban bushwhacking over snowbanks, but I did end up at my destination. "Never again", I told myself.
 
fattony said:
As someone who commutes through that intersection both direction daily, I have to say I'm surprised. It is hardly a joy, but it doesn't seem all that dangerous and I cannot recall the last time I saw an accident there.

I suppose that goes to show that anyone's personal experience is strictly anecdotal. You have to quantitatively analyze these types of things to get an accurate assessment.
Click to expand...

Wellington Circle was on the dangerous list too. In the 1990s, I think it was the worst. Recently, I think the daily police presence has helped make drivers more rule-and-safety conscious.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top