Somerville Infill and Small Developments

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They're making good progress! Hope to bring my kid there before the leaves all fall. Winter is coming...
 
Looks like a non-trivial addition to the Somerville Museum on Central St, near Summer St. I tried to take the picture to match the viewpoint in the rendering. You can see the first level framing going in. Adding on a side entry with an elevator too - making it ADA accessible which will now qualify the museum for federal and state grants, apparently.
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Dr. Rosen Rosen said:
At the long derelict and empty corner of Summer and School in Spring Hill, looks like there’s some interesting developments taking place.
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Ok, so it appears the whole ‘forest sponsored by elves’ thing isn’t in fact what’s in the works at 73 Summer. Instead, a 3 story, 27-unit apartment building with underground parking and LEED gold certified. Not bad. https://www.somervillema.gov/sites/default/files/73 Summer Street Project Narrative_0.pdf

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I’m surprised they didn’t put the anti-grind attachments on the granite.
 
RandomWalk said:
I’m surprised they didn’t put the anti-grind attachments on the granite.
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Attachments are placed in the seams where the blocks meet on the lower level of blocks but they're small and they don't protrude all that much. Where this damage happened is kind of high up so they probably didn't think it was reachable and decided it didn't need protection. This is not harmless fun, it's vandalism.
 
Brad Plaid said:
Attachments are placed in the seams where the blocks meet on the lower level of blocks but they're small and they don't protrude all that much. Where this damage happened is kind of high up so they probably didn't think it was reachable and decided it didn't need protection. This is not harmless fun, it's vandalism.
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Come on man...
 
3 Hawkins, Union Sq
Originally proposed as 44 units it was approved at 59 units after developer agreed to passive house standards. It replaces yet another auto body shop and unfortunately a late 19th c house.
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1060 Broadway between Teele and Davis Squares
Former brutalist Powderhouse School converted to 48 units with several commercial condo/rental spaces. Relatively raw with some rough, exposed concrete in keeping with the deliberate intention to not be conventionally pretty. Lots of open terraces and decks but it feels cozy and communal too. The goal here is to create something like an artsy village not just disconnected living/working/commercial spaces. There is a nice adjoining new park with sections of concrete removed from the building used as benches. https://www.cala.live
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It’s a lot better than some of the alternative proposals for that site. I recall one was anchored by a CVS.
 
371 Beacon St.
This gets a lot of scorn but when finally done it will be a decent little hotel and a positive addition to the neighborhood (and have a restaurant/bar?). It anchors the intersection and adds some substance to the immediate area. I like it considerably more now than when the unpromising renders first came out.
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Brad Plaid said:
371 Beacon St.
This gets a lot of scorn but when finally done it will be a decent little hotel and a positive addition to the neighborhood (and have a restaurant/bar?).
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Sorry, Brad, but as much as I want to, I just can't stretch myself to agree here. The reference frame here is the trash-filled slope down to the railroad tracks that existed here for so long before this. If we were starting with almost anything else, this thing would be a clear downgrade. I'm still left wondering if even in this case it's still a downgrade.
 
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Drive or walk by that mess daily. I'd much prefer a vacant lot.
 
God, those panels look terrible. The pointy pergola is terrible. The windows are terrible. Those random angled metal posts along the lower front corner are terrible.

Absolutely a candidate for worst development of 202X once it finishes (and the awards actually get started up again here...)
 
I’m in the this will turn out fine camp. Design-wise it has a sort of fantasy castle look to it (if you squint a bit) and why not it’s a hotel, no reason it shouldn’t be something a bit unordinary. Also, while the materials are everyday, I don’t get the sense of cheapness that others do.

Looking at the bigger picture Porter Sq needs a serious re-imagining, and 371 helps to move things a bit in that direction. Of all the squares in Cambridge/Somerville it's the only one that has a suburban shopping center with a sprawling, several acre parking lot at its core. Even though the businesses there are popular and successful it's a very poor substitute for a real "downtown." Oh, and BTW, there also happens to be a Red Line train station and a commuter train stop right across the street!
 
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The irony of the history behind the Porter shopping center is so very Cambridge.
 
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