SAV-MOR Site Lab Building | 15 McGrath Highway | Somerville

I wish the ":jug handle" wasn't left in place in the new design. The jug handle appears to be a state ROW for a turnaround that doesn't exist and isn't needed, and has been used for parking. The new building should be moved toward McGrath and the jug handle eliminated. That would make a better street wall, instead of having a setback. The render is a bit deceptive in that it gives the impression that the new building will be right up against McGrath, but the plan view shows that it won't be.
 
Unless 51 McGrath (the storage building) was part of this project, that jug handle is necessary for access to it.
 
Sometimes it's tough to tell scale with these giant labs, so here it is. Taken from the link in Post 50, page 34/275.

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Edit: Page 52

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Dr. Rosen Rosen said:
Some cool facade ideas for the rear of the building, which faces the community path. I’ll support any effort to dress up the mechanical penthouses. Updated proposal here: https://www.somervillema.gov/sites/default/files/McGrath 15 Supplemental Submission to Planning Board 2022 02 17.pdf

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During community meetings about this building, many people have requested that the very plain north façade of the building (i.e. the side perpendicular to McGrath) get a makeover, since it will be in full view of commuters heading southbound on McGrath. In one meeting, the developers highlighted the (good looking, IMO) southwest corner of the building, calling it a "gateway to Somerville." Someone in the meeting immediately replied that the north side of the building should be commensurately good looking, since it too is a "gateway to Cambridge."

The fact that the developer responded to these suggestions by only updating the east façade of the building (i.e. the side facing the community path) suggests that they're assuming something will replace the self-storage facility at 51 McGrath in the near future (and thus obscure the north façade). However, as far as I know, there are no plans to redevelop 51 McGrath—indeed, Life Storage (unsuccessfully) filed a petition in 2019 to expand their storage facility, suggesting they're in no hurry to sell.
 
Interesting back story on the community input, thx for sharing that, Brick Top.
 
Dr. Rosen Rosen said:
Some cool facade ideas for the rear of the building, which faces the community path. I’ll support any effort to dress up the mechanical penthouses. Updated proposal here: https://www.somervillema.gov/sites/default/files/McGrath 15 Supplemental Submission to Planning Board 2022 02 17.pdf
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FINALLY, someone paying attention to the aesthetics of penthouses. I attended a community meeting for 50 Webster (the plot across the tracks from the station) and I asked the architect present if they had given any thought to the aesthetics of the the mech penthouses and he blew me off saying that it would just blend in. If the scale of the penthouse in Boynton Yards is anything to go by, they most certainly do NOT just blend in. We might as well make them aesthetically pleasing, otherwise we're just going to have dozens of grey, nondescript 15-20 foot tall rectangles across the horizon.
 
Planned construction schedule presented at a recent community meeting:

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It always amazes me how complex the internals of lab buildings are—it takes roughly the same amount of time to finish the interior as it does to do everything else!
 
The hotel next door was approved long ago, but it will probably be a weedy lot long after this one is complete.
 
Clear for take-off.


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“Another proposed life sciences building in Somerville has attracted financing to begin construction.
JLL Capital Markets said Monday it has arranged $230 million in financing to Oxford Properties Group on behalf of DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, Leggat McCall Properties and Deutsche Finance America.
The former Sav-Mor Liquors site is proposed as the site for a nine-story building totaling 262,000 square feet of space to accommodate companies looking to be near the life sciences hub in Kendall Square about a mile away.
The site at 15 McGrath Highway is familiar both to passersby who knew the former Sav-Mor site for its creative marquees and to the real estate world for its location between two sites that are already bringing new labs to the area: Boynton Yards in Somerville and Cambridge Crossing, which abuts the Somerville line in Cambridge.
Leggat McCall Properties and DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners have also teamed up to build Boynton Yards, three planned life science buildings just south of Union Square in Somerville, whose first phase opened last year.

The project, which won city permitting approval in March, is scheduled for completion in late 2024.”
 
Clear for take-off.

123939DB-955A-4EC6-82FA-819751758C2F.jpeg


“Another proposed life sciences building in Somerville has attracted financing to begin construction.

JLL Capital Markets said Monday it has arranged $230 million in financing to Oxford Properties Group on behalf of DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, Leggat McCall Properties and Deutsche Finance America.

The former Sav-Mor Liquors site is proposed as the site for a nine-story building totaling 262,000 square feet of space to accommodate companies looking to be near the life sciences hub in Kendall Square about a mile away.

The site at 15 McGrath Highway is familiar both to passersby who knew the former Sav-Mor site for its creative marquees and to the real estate world for its location between two sites that are already bringing new labs to the area: Boynton Yards in Somerville and Cambridge Crossing, which abuts the Somerville line in Cambridge.

Leggat McCall Properties and DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners have also teamed up to build Boynton Yards, three planned life science buildings just south of Union Square in Somerville, whose first phase opened last year

The project, which won city permitting approval in March, is scheduled for completion in late 2024.”
 
Dr. Rosen Rosen said:
Clear for take-off.

View attachment 27376

“Another proposed life sciences building in Somerville has attracted financing to begin construction.

JLL Capital Markets said Monday it has arranged $230 million in financing to Oxford Properties Group on behalf of DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, Leggat McCall Properties and Deutsche Finance America.

The former Sav-Mor Liquors site is proposed as the site for a nine-story building totaling 262,000 square feet of space to accommodate companies looking to be near the life sciences hub in Kendall Square about a mile away.

The site at 15 McGrath Highway is familiar both to passersby who knew the former Sav-Mor site for its creative marquees and to the real estate world for its location between two sites that are already bringing new labs to the area: Boynton Yards in Somerville and Cambridge Crossing, which abuts the Somerville line in Cambridge.

Leggat McCall Properties and DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners have also teamed up to build Boynton Yards, three planned life science buildings just south of Union Square in Somerville, whose first phase opened last year

The project, which won city permitting approval in March, is scheduled for completion in late 2024.”
Click to expand...
@BeeLine can we roll these two threads together?

15 McGrath | Somervillle

From the SCP bridge - 7/6:
archboston.com
 
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