Assembly Square Infill and Small Developments | Somerville

F-Line to Dudley said:
See a few posts up. Gateway location was built because the Mystic Ave. location was oversaturated. Different clientele. Mystic/Gateway tilts very heavily to professional contractor business. It's a zoo during peak pickup hours when construction workers do a pit stop there off 93 to load up for the job site. And the inside is a disaster area in the immediate hours after they all leave and head back out on 93. It got so day-to-day unmanageable that the Gateway location went up just to serve general clientele. Gateway's cleaner, better-organized, less-hectic. Still tops the whole plaza in business. But they will never ever give up Assembly because contractor business is HD's single-biggest moneymaker, and that traffic doesn't migrate across the river if they go out of eyesight of an easy 93 interchange. That store is a sacred cow to Home Depot national HQ. Hell, it's a sacred cow to Assembly.
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So when Somerville talks about ED for Assembly Square, they're talking about the one site that won't willingly sell... Home Depot, and not the other sites (many of which are controlled by Federal Realty anyway).
 
I've always thought Somerville was looking at basically anything that wasnt Home Depot or FRIT, which end up being Circuit City and the little stuff on that Southern tip, and then all the scruffy stuff along 38 around the Middlesex courthouse (which the state shoul land swap into a 5 story tower)
 
BussesAin'tTrains said:
So when Somerville talks about ED for Assembly Square, they're talking about the one site that won't willingly sell... Home Depot, and not the other sites (many of which are controlled by Federal Realty anyway).
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According to this Globe article from 9 months ago, Home Depot's on the 73 acres that Federal doesn't yet own, and last attempt by them at making an offer was rebuffed: https://www.bostonglobe.com/busines...row-project/wT2VW8O4DQv2Spw1O9zYcJ/story.html.

Now, that article didn't say who all the current owners were within those 73 acres. It's more than one. Doesn't take much process of elimination to figure that Home Depot's landlords are going to be most resistant of all to sell out. And that the current asking price is way more than Federal was willing to pay for one of the least 'friendly' parcels in the neighborhood right on the loud and smelly 93-facing wall and Mystic drag strip.
 
That might be the biggest building in Somerville now.
 
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The precast sucks, but I'm hopefully optimistic about the glass.
 
Shot at night of the new Partners building... the area is soo alive during the weekends.

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The Partners HQ is dominating. It fills the visible horizon coming into Sullivan Sq from Rutherford.
 
Federal Realty had their Q2 2015 Earnings Release and Call last week. It included a few details and commentary about Assembly Row:

Federal Realty Quarterly Call said:
"Assembly Row continues to mature beautifully with most restaurants and retailers meeting or exceeding their first year projections. We've clearly struck a chord in the community and are providing a need that wasn't being met. Percentage rent is above our expectations and the office building is basically fully spoken for with virtually all available space occupied or under signed lease or LOI. Partners construction is right on or maybe even a bit ahead of schedule and occupancy by Partners employees is expected to begin next summer. That building is huge and really does wonders adding scale and perspective to the entire site. Check it out on any trip to Boston; it's impressive. Our own construction of Phase II is just now getting underway and will start to deliver in 2017. The future of the Assembly Row section of Somerville is extremely bright, and there will be incremental investment opportunities here for at least the next six or seven years as we fully build out."
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-Retail 95% occupied / 97% leased
-Office 67% leased / 100% leased or under LOI

-Residential 95.5% leased (per AvalonBay earnings)

-Phase II (167k s.f. retail, 447 residential units, 155 room boutique hotel, 700k s.f. office @ Partners) projected opening late 2017/2018
 
^ Sweet. Such an obvious success is going to attract both sequels (e.g Phase II and III) and imitators (Wellington, Sullivan Lechmere), not just in Metro Boston but anywhere Federal or its competitors may go.
 
Been watching them dig holes and then fill them back up the past few days... stuff's happening, I suppose.
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Are both fenced in parcels being developed at the same time? Or are they using one as a staging/backfill area? I know the one nearest AVA is where the "high rise" is going. Great shot btw.

In other Assembly news. From my walk around and reading permits, they are adding a Muse Wine and Paint bar next to the Gymboree and a Southern Kit and Cookhouse next to the Le Creuset from the same owners of Wink n Nod in the South End.
 
Cobean said:
...and a Southern Kit and Cookhouse next to the Le Creuset from the same owners of Wink n Nod in the South End.
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Eater coverage here:
http://boston.eater.com/2015/8/17/9163189/southern-kin-cookhouse-assembly-row-somerville

Boston Nightlife Ventures — the group behind Wink & Nod, The Tap Trailhouse, and Griddler's Burgers + Dogs — will appear before the Somerville licensing board this week to secure the necessary permits to open Southern Kin Cookhouse and Bar at 500 Assembly Row.

BNV president Euz Azevedo announced the new concept on Twitter in June and shared a blueprint, which appears to show a space that seats at least 100. A Facebook page for the restaurant promises a fall/winter 2015 opening.
 
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