Somerville Infill and Small Developments

cden4 · Sep 5, 2014

That Ball Square proposal is one fugly building! Was it done by a first year architecture student or what?!

617 · Sep 5, 2014

cden4 said:
That Ball Square proposal is one fugly building! Was it done by a first year architecture student or what?!

Let's be honest...somerville in general is ugly

RandomWalk · Sep 5, 2014

It's the design which triangulates between the residents, the DRC, and the permitting authority. I doubt you're going to get much creativity since two out of the three groups want something inoffensive and ultimately forgettable. Value-engineering by the developer, to optimize for quick erection to get their money while the market is still good, doesn't help either.

When I was shopping for a house a few years ago, I looked at the Russell School condos on Mass Ave and the fugly brick building across Mass Ave. The agent for the fugly building made the point that their view was of the Russell School, while the Russell's view was of the fugly building. People want to live in popular locations, and if you live in the worst looking building then you're the one who doesn't need to look at the crap.

Brad Plaid · Sep 5, 2014

RandomWalk said:
It's the design which triangulates between the residents, the DRC, and the permitting authority. I doubt you're going to get much creativity since two out of the three groups want something inoffensive and ultimately forgettable. Value-engineering by the developer, to optimize for quick erection to get their money while the market is still good, doesn't help either.

It doesn't have to be this way. The entrenched culture allows it to keep happening——change the culture, you change the result. This is obvious and much easier to say than to do anything about of course. The DRC I would guess is the most influential. Unfortunately New England provincialism/tribalism runs deep. It could take as long as another generation to get a more forward-thinking mindset into this particular bureaucracy..unless lots of loud, persistent noise is made about raising design standards.

shmessy · Sep 5, 2014

kjdonovan said:
Definitely a blocky lego-like quality to many of the recent building proposals, but that's par for much of the area outside downtown. I wonder if, 50 years from now, our future counterparts will react to all this new stuff the same way I react to this:

The chain link fence is a nice touch too!

Chain link fences are like George Costanza's sweat pants:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0Hbu4Z4pGI

bigeman312 · Oct 9, 2014

I want to start taking pictures and documenting some developments in Somerville. There's the continued development of Assembly Row as well as the planned re-development of Union Square. What (other) projects are currently underway?

George_Apley · Oct 9, 2014

The condo project on School Street near the future Gilman Square stop. I imagine some other parcels in that area will be rehabbed/redeveloped in the near future. The Prospect Street projects toward the Cambridge city line. Several projects ongoing, or in the pipeline on Somerville Ave between Porter and Union. The cold-storage conversion to apartments behind Twin City. What else?

pixelsand8 · Oct 9, 2014

Here is a brief list of everything I can think off off the top of my head, and the latest progress. Later I'll try and make a map and provide some pictures.

- Former Millbrook Cold Storage (6 story, building is gutted save for frame)
- Cobble Hill Plaza (5 story mixed use, proposed)
- former USave parcel at Prospect/Webster (demo'd long ago, concrete poured, think this might be related to future Green Line station)
- former Fiesta bakery, Union Sq (demo permit requested)
- 97 Prospect - South of Union, (3 story, almost complete)
- Quest Building on Prospect - South of Union (frame built)
- School St and Gilmore (excavation complete)
- Sunoco Station at McGrath/Medford St (proposed, renders in this thread)
- Somerville Ave / Loring (3 story, almost complete)
- Somerville Ave / Laurel (massive lot been cleared forever)

Anybody know of anything else?

bigeman312 · Oct 9, 2014

This is great. Thank you guys.

Ruairi · Oct 9, 2014

The old boys and girls club and the funeral home on Washington st. out side union are due for demolition to be replaced by affordable and open market condos. No idea whats happening with this, the site is getting pretty ugly now.

Work has started on the corner of Somerville ave and prospect in Union. They are clearing out a large section for GLX and the union master plan developments.

Bergeron37 · Oct 9, 2014

pixelsand8 said:
Here is a brief list of everything I can think off off the top of my head, and the latest progress. Later I'll try and make a map and provide some pictures.

- Former Millbrook Cold Storage (6 story, building is gutted save for frame)
- Cobble Hill Plaza (5 story mixed use, proposed)
- former USave parcel at Prospect/Webster (demo'd long ago, concrete poured, think this might be related to future Green Line station)
- former Fiesta bakery, Union Sq (demo permit requested)
- 97 Prospect - South of Union, (3 story, almost complete)
- Quest Building on Prospect - South of Union (frame built)
- School St and Gilmore (excavation complete)
- Sunoco Station at McGrath/Medford St (proposed, renders in this thread)
- Somerville Ave / Loring (3 story, almost complete)
- Somerville Ave / Laurel (massive lot been cleared forever)

Anybody know of anything else?

I called the city on this one last week and they told me the developer was going to planning board to build 10-12 triple deckers. I almost shit my pants

kjdonovan · Oct 9, 2014

pixelsand8 · Oct 17, 2014

A couple more I forgot;

181-197 Washington Street - Affordable housing complex by the SCC, I imagine demolition should occur soon.
82 Highland Ave - Six unit building of 2 bedrooms, lot was recently cleared.

kjdonovan · Oct 17, 2014

Couple articles on the town: one in the Times from a couple week ago, one in the Globe today.

Times - Out of the Shadow of Boston and Cambridge
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/05/travel/out-of-the-shadow-of-boston-and-cambridge.html?_r=0

Globe - Boston-area communities vie to be the next Somerville
http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyl...le/j56PBWBoCNvX0bpUDmgw1M/story.html#comments

My observation: Somerville is getting more press than it deserves. The city is mirrored by Southie--a dense and historically white, middle class community a couple miles from downtown Boston that is seeing an influx of new construction in old industrial areas, and a lot of infill projects in its triple decker neighborhoods.

Southie merits all of its attention from a purely developmental perspective. It is growing much bigger and much faster than Somerville. Outside of Assembly, I'm not seeing infill projects on anything close to the scale you see in Southie.

And yet all the Southie articles are about winter parking and us-vs-them, while the Somerville articles are about exciting new places to eat or play.

Perhaps it is because Southie's growth is, to be harsh, not very interesting. For every brewery and artisan nut or chocolate maker in Somerville, Southie builds a sports bar. Nothing against the latter, but they don't make for interesting write-ups in Conde Nast.

And yet driving down Southie's Broadway today compared to ten years ago, it feels like a different world. It's exploding. Compare that with Union Square (or worse, Somerville's Broadway) and, at first glance, you'd think, what's all the fuss about? It's still pretty dumpy.

So perhaps the attention in Somerville is due to the quality of the growth rather than the quantity. Most of the new places that open are truly unique and attract outsiders (case-in-point, I can't even get a seat at most of the restaurants near my house on a weekday night, such as Sarma or Highland Kitchen.)

But frankly, I'm surprised Union Square, in particular, gets as much ink as it does.

Shepard · Oct 17, 2014

^ Good observations. I'd argue that a lot of it comes down to liquor licenses. New establishments in Somerville can take a risk. A bar opens in Southie and, to justify the costs of opening, needs to vacuum up every 'bro in a Sox hat within in a three mile radius.

Ruairi · Oct 17, 2014

I live outside Union and I don't really see the attraction but I do notice that a lot of outdoor types tend to want to live north of the city for access to Maine and VT. They want to live as close to the city as they can during the week and be in the mountains/ocean at the weekends. I think this is why Union is doing well. Davis is the only other commercial area in Somerville and its priced out now.
I like east broadway. It's beginning to look nice and has a good mix of new and old. It will be interesting to see how the development of Sullivan, Assembly and to a lesser extent, the casino will effect the area.

George_Apley · Oct 17, 2014

I think the juxtaposition of Cambridge versus Somerville, and how much of a connection elites seem have for the north side of the river that drives Somerville's coverage. All of the posh communities north of Boston have begun to view Somerville as a destination. And these high-brow, WBUR towns are very interested in the "phenomenon" that is Somerville.

South Boston can say that the Seaport has become a destination in a similar way, but realistically, the Seaport is not the same neighborhood as Southie. I don't know if people from the southern suburbs hit up Southie's new development for a good time, but they sure aren't going on and on about it like the people from Lexington, Arlington,Belmont and Winchester do about Somerville.

Plus, Somerville being its own city, and a very small one area-wise at that, it's also considered sort of a "laboratory" of urban municipal government and community for the greater Boston area. Somerville is generally considered to have a good, responsive city government, with lots of programming/events for its residents, an overall vision, a rapidly improving school district, and a fair bit of ex-industrial land to redevelop and expand the commercial tax base. Somerville's independence is also something that gets it more attention compared to one of a dozen Boston neighborhoods that might deserve equal attention.

Union gets press because of the cities Big Plan™ for the neighborhood. Also, It's very yuppified, but still has the gritty feel that first and second wave yuppies love. It has very community involved businesses, and hosts many of the city's public events, which invariably draw people from all over the area. Union is also a central location between many other places, has a million bus routes to take you anywhere and, once the T opens, will explode. I sure will be priced out in the next few years.

George_Apley · Oct 17, 2014

Ruairi said:
I live outside Union and I don't really see the attraction but I do notice that a lot of outdoor types tend to want to live north of the city for access to Maine and VT. They want to live as close to the city as they can during the week and be in the mountains/ocean at the weekends. I think this is why Union is doing well. Davis is the only other commercial area in Somerville and its priced out now.

Hah Union isn't doing well because of the weekend hiker demographic, although they do exist there... It's doing well because it's close enough to Harvard, Central, Kendall, Porter, Lechmere, and even Sullivan to get there walking, biking or quick bus ride, while also having things to do right around the corner from your apartment. It (for now) attracts people who like the accessibility to Cambridge and Boston without having paying for rents that exist in Harvard or Central Square. Cambridge is the biggest driver of Somerville's success, not the Mountains of NH and VT...

Ruairi · Oct 17, 2014

wow, I didn't mean it was the only factor. Yea, there's the glaringly obvious factors, this was just one small thing I noticed that might separate it from Southie.

George_Apley · Oct 17, 2014

Ruairi said:
wow, I didn't mean it was the only factor. Yea, there's the glaringly obvious factors, this was just one small thing I noticed that might separate it from Southie.

Fair enough. Sorry if I came off poorly. For what it's worth, I think Somerville's independence and positioning are the biggest factors in the attention it gets from journalists.

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