Somerville Infill and Small Developments

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One of the most fun facts about Somerville developments: a not insignificant portion of them is funded by the Vidal Sassoon (hair and shampoo brand) fortune, a la his son, Elan.

Boston Mag has a nice article today on him and his ‘adopted Somerville home’.

I was aware he was doing projects around town, but it’s rather hard to track down his name on paper. Here’s one project - the condos/apartments on Somerville Ave and Hawkins St in Union Sq:

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Scant details on his other projects, but the article says he’s got ~60 total:

“His baby may be Union Square, but he has developed nearly 60 projects in Somerville—from Union Square and Winter Hill, to the very last street in East Somerville before the Boston city line, to West Somerville and the outskirts of bustling Davis Square. He’s touched all seven wards and has a dozen more potential projects in the pipeline. Though he’s neither the largest nor the newest developer in Somerville, his impact is visible if you know where to look.”
 
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Cool to see all sorts of buildings - like the Somerville Ave Car Wash - getting revamped and a second life around town.

A technical question for you builders and architects out there: I was wondering if this construction detail might lead to moisture and mold problems? They’re just directly covering up the brick with treated plywood and 2x’s. Won’t this trap water in the wall cavity? Especially given that this is a car wash.

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Dr. Rosen Rosen said:
One of the most fun facts about Somerville developments: a not insignificant portion of them is funded by the Vidal Sassoon (hair and shampoo brand) fortune, a la his son, Elan.
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What's the point of having a shampoo heir leaving a mark on the city if he's not gonna go and be a little bombastic? Just a lil' more flash would be nice.
 
Texasian said:
What's the point of having a shampoo heir leaving a mark on the city if he's not gonna go and be a little bombastic? Just a lil' more flash would be nice.
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So many puns to be had, right? Like…his buildings could have even more volume and body. Add some sheen and highlights, texture and color.

and I’ll leave you with Adam Sandler’s Zohan:

 
Cambria is already making this corner a place. It’ll be even more so as the apartment building takes shape. It’s always been a sort of no-man’s land in between Union and Porter. Hopefully more and more foot traffic will slow the cars too.

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(And I’m loving the pencil truck around town)
 
A few shots from my stroll around Union Square.
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The former gas station looks odd and out of place in this neo-facadectomy. It might have been nicer to move it elsewhere in the square and repurpose it as something standalone. For example, the plaza at Bow and Somerville as a high-end Portland Loo.
 
Dr. Rosen Rosen said:
Is this news?I don’t think I’ve seen plans for 35 McGrath before. (Next door to 15 McGrath project). Plans at Somerville Urban Design site.
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I've not seen them either. Has this been approved, or are these plans merely theoretical? I looked up the deed to the property and it does not appear to have changed hands.

Dr. Rosen Rosen said:
Currently at 35 McGrath, a white box.
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Inside that white box is a data center. Seems a bit redundant given the much larger datacenter in the Inner Belt, though the article points out that its proximity to the massive amount of fiber optic lines buried underneath the railroad tracks was a unique selling point (as of 2008).
 
I thought it was a telecom hotel, which is slightly different than a traditional data center. Either way, it’s not surprising that they’re jumping on the lab train while it’s still running.
 
Renovation project on corner of Somerville Ave and Park St (across from Cambria hotel). I was hoping the owner would sell and we’d see a 4-5 story mixed-used project proposal. See description below.

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From the Somerville UDC site:
“Property is currently an existing 3,910 SF commercial building that is located at the intersection of Somerville Avenue and Park Street, a block with a number of neighborhood retail businesses including a Walgreens, a florist, a UPS store, and numerous sit-in and take-out restaurants. The existing use of the Property is as an owner- occupied Chinese-food restaurant and bar. The existing owners will retain their ownership of the site and lease the Property to Boston Garden.

Boston Garden proposes the interior renovation of the existing building in conformance with the performance standards set forth in the Ordinance. No exterior renovations are proposed aside from modest adjustments of exterior finish and the installation of signage, awning, and canopy elements. Please see the enclosed site plans, floor plans, and exterior renderings, attached hereto as Exhibit A, which were designed in full compliance with the standards set forth by the Ordinance.”
 
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