State to take over building of T station
By Casey Ross, Globe Staff | August 21, 2008
State transportation leaders, frustrated by delays in the massive NorthPoint development, are taking over the building of a new MBTA station on the Cambridge property - a move necessary to ensure an on-time start to the $550 million extension of the Green Line.
The NorthPoint development team had agreed to build a new $70 million Lechmere Green Line station inside the former rail yards off of Monsignor O'Brien Highway, in exchange for the state's giving them the property at the existing Lechmere Station.
But the two partners in NorthPoint, Boston and Maine Corp. and Cambridge NorthPoint LLC, have been locked in a court fight in Delaware over the pace of the development, financial issues, and the potential sale of the property. A trial ended this week, and a judge is considering a ruling in the case, according to court officials in Delaware.
The fight has led to lengthy delays in the construction of NorthPoint - a minicity that would have 5 million square feet of office, laboratory, retail, residential, and hotel development - as well as to delays in building the MBTA station.
So the state Executive Office of Transportation said it instead will build the new station, and incorporate the project into its massive extension of the Green Line to Medford. This adds a new wrinkle - and potentially millions of dollars in costs - to a transit upgrade that has been promised for years.
Transportation officials yesterday did not answer questions about how much it would cost the state to build a new Lechmere Station, nor would they say if it will affect the timeline. The project was schedules to be completed in 2014.
The station must be moved to place it along the tracks that are being used to extend the Green Line through Somerville to Medford. Currently, that Green Line ends at Lechmere.
"Because of the uncertainty and time delay with the NorthPoint Project, and recognizing the aggressive timeline for completing the Green Line extension, we are incorporating the relocation of Lechmere Station into our project," Adam Hurtubise, a spokesman for the Executive Office of Transportation, said in an e-mailed statement. "We are not precluding the opportunity to work with the selected developer if and when the NorthPoint legal issues . . . are resolved."
In the meantime, residents have begun moving into a pair of buildings recently completed at NorthPoint, said executives involved in the development. The buildings, known as NorthPoint Tango and Sierra, have welcomed their first 25 occupants, said Sue Hawkes, chief executive of Collaborative Cos., which is marketing 329 condominiums on the property.
She said 46 units have been sold in the two buildings. Construction was delayed for a year because of the legal dispute over the development.
"We've sold several units over the past several weeks, in spite of the fact that we're not really even open, which is exciting," she said.
Hawkes said NorthPoint plans to open a sales center this weekend and launch a grand opening for the development after Labor Day.
Casey Ross can be reached at
cross@globe.com.