Somerville Development Q&A September 11
NAIOP is hosting a breakfast with the Mayor and the big developers of the major somerville projects.
I've posted summaries for Assembly and Boynton already on those threads. For the Cambria hotel, he showed a couple of interior renders that I don't think I'd seen. Developer was approached by Choice Hotels specifically about that site - Choice has been building Cambria brand from scratch to get a higher-end option for their loyalty club members. Attractive because of proximity to Greentown Labs. Hired Cambridge Seven to get something quirky. Had nothing but compliments for the neighbors (a trend at this event) - the hotel is designed with a large lobby and restaurant with outdoor seating so that neighbors can activate the space. Everyone was delivering their projects in the late 2020-2021 time frame.
Greentown might be a draw, but strangely he didn't mention Harvard, which I'd imagine is the real reason Choice wanted a hotel there. It's at the foot of Park St and easy walking distance from the business end of campus.
On the event more generally - everyone talked up bike/ped, parking maximums (the guy from FRIT looked forward to when they could propose buildings at Assembly with no parking at all), and community support for urban-style development.
www.bldup.com
