Somerville Infill and Small Developments

Amazing that they didn't tare the old building down and start over.
 
Looks like the Powderhouse Community School will be going back to being a school "in the next year or two".
Hopefully it will look and feel just like a community. There will be a park that's built into it and there will be a lot of other things happening around it. There will be some seniors living there, there will be condos there, there will be businesses there [...] and then the school really on the interior of the school [...] and so we don't want it to feel like a place where people go to have something done to them, but a place that people go to do things.
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What exactly this all means--and what it means for the MarKa plans--I have no idea...

video
 
According to Curtatone, the school is a component of the Marka project.
 
They started demolition on the site in January of 2015. Young Construction has real issue with speed of construction, between this and their Porter Square sites.
 
Union Square developers pitch urban marketplace

Bow Market would have up to 40 retail spaces as small as 150 square feet, leased by food and art sellers. The vendors ideally would be aspiring merchants “from farmers markets or food trucks, graduating to a brick and mortar space” but who cannot yet afford larger retail space in Somerville’s hot real estate market, Boyes-Watson said.

His development team is also applying to use a larger location near the back of the property for a brew pub or coffee-roasting operation, according to a document filed with the city.

Boyes-Watson declined to say what the project would cost; the purchase of the property is pending city approval. The Somerville Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled to review the project Wednesday.
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http://www.bostonglobe.com/business...marketplace/pgfmVKpQ0ewdep815o67qI/story.html

I believe this building and parking lot are tucked away behind P.A.'s Lounge. It's a great idea.
 
Somerville High was approved in yesterday's election:

Somerville Is Getting Its $256 Million High School
It will be the most expensive high school in Massachusetts history.

By Madeline Bilis | Boston Daily | November 9, 2016, 9:55 a.m.

The residents of Somerville voted overwhelmingly to fund an expensive new high school for the city. According to unofficial results from the City of Somerville on Wednesday morning, the school was approved by 72 percent of voters.

The future 1,590-student school is expected to cost approximately $256 million, making it the most expensive high school building project in Massachusetts history. Somerville will contribute $136 million to the project, with $130.3 million of that share to be raised by a debt exclusion.

The debt exclusion, or tax increase, will gradually raise property taxes over the next 11 years. In 2027, the tax increases will level off, but the payment period will continue until 2054. (For example, in 2027, the average single-family home could see a maximum of $294 per year added to its tax bill, according to estimates from the city. After that, taxes will gradually decrease.)

In addition to the Somerville’s portion of the bill, the state is set to vote on its contribution of $120 million in February. The Boston Globe notes the $256 million high school on Highland Avenue is well over the cost of Newton North High School, which currently holds the title of the state’s most expensive building project. Finished in 2010, the school cost $198.5 million.

The new school proposal would renovate 82,700 square feet of the existing building while demolishing the rest, according to Globe. The new, energy efficient building would measure almost 322,000 square feet.

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2016/11/09/somerville-high-school-vote/
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ5O8LcpbH0
 
Datadyne -- sounds as if it needs a serious diet -- the comparable sized GE HQ is less than half the price including: renovating existing buildings; building a new structure; and constructing a Public Plaza and an addition to the Harbor Walk
 
The cost of this is insane. $256 million for a high school seems totally out of line. Now I think there is a huge need for a new high school and I realize any high school would cost $100 million, but $256 million just seems wild.
 
BuilditDenser said:
The cost of this is insane. $256 million for a high school seems totally out of line. Now I think there is a huge need for a new high school and I realize any high school would cost $100 million, but $256 million just seems wild.
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That would make it the State's most expensive public school construction project. Newton North opened in the Fall of 2010 at a price tag of $197.5 million, at the time the most expensive public school ever built in Massachusetts.
 
FWIW, I've read articles that break down the construction cost to $533/sq. ft. When factoring that this is going to be an energy-efficient school offering STEAM programs and the facilities along with them (chemistry labs, modern HVAC systems, high volume broadband & wi-fi infrastructure), I suspect the numbers add up.

Northeastern University's new science & engineering building cost $225 million for 220,000 sq. ft., or more than $1,000/sq. ft.
 
BuilditDenser said:
The cost of this is insane. $256 million for a high school seems totally out of line. Now I think there is a huge need for a new high school and I realize any high school would cost $100 million, but $256 million just seems wild.
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You can eyeball a proposal and know off the top of your head that it should cost more than $100M, but less than $256M? Very impressive. You must also do very well at guessing how many M&M are in the jar.
 
fattony said:
You can eyeball a proposal and know off the top of your head that it should cost more than $100M, but less than $256M? Very impressive. You must also do very well at guessing how many M&M are in the jar.
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I'm in the industry and can tell you the cost of this IS insane.

Billerica is currently building a $187m 300,000 SF high school that the MSBA is putting up $100m for and the rest is on Billerica thru debt exclusions like Somerville has proposed. The MSBA seems to be getting A LOT looser with its money lately and it's going to fairly well-off towns (Lunenburg, Billerica, Somerville, Newton...)
 
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BuilditDenser said:
The cost of this is insane. $256 million for a high school seems totally out of line. Now I think there is a huge need for a new high school and I realize any high school would cost $100 million, but $256 million just seems wild.
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Agreed. Avalon north station, a 450 foot skyscraper, cost less than this. I guess nothing in Somerville (cough cough GLX) can be built at a reasonable price.
 
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