Union Square D2.1 | 10 Prospect Street | Somerville

The umbrella is an absurdist masterstroke, but I'm still happy for that guy on a visceral level for his little spot of shade. I've done roofing in this kind of heat, and I hope I never have to again.
 
Looks like a D3.1 thread is needed soon! A neighborhood mtg is scheduled for 6pm Aug 25 to introduce conceptual designs of a 9-story lab building at the future 60 Prospect St (where the defunct Beacon Sales bldg is). Zoom mtg link here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9tYz9Jv0SzC-ee4SFLN0zg
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Are there going to be 2 elevator cores for the apt. tower? If not, what is that foundation on left?

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Equilibria said:
"Renovation" - We renovated this plot of abandoned old houses and storage buildings into a 350-foot condo tower. Adaptive reuse is all it is.
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That is indeed a curious way to describe the work! I chuckle when I think about the hundreds of household radiators that occupied this spot for many years. Perhaps they could do a sculpture/installation to memorialize the history. :)
 
Equilibria said:
"Renovation" - We renovated this plot of abandoned old houses and storage buildings into a 350-foot condo tower. Adaptive reuse is all it is.
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I love your post/comment. Just a small aside: it’s going to be 280’ to the top of mechanicals, right? I know precision of info wasn’t your main point in this particular instance, but thought I’d double-check.
 

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rjacobs said:
I love your post/comment. Just a small aside: it’s going to be 280’ to the top of mechanicals, right? I know precision of info wasn’t your main point in this particular instance, but thought I’d double-check.
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I'm sure you're right. I was being glib. :)
 
Just looking at that new US2 building as I was walking by this morning, from the renderings it seems like there's 27 or 28 floors ant this is currently at 6 or 7. Either way, this building is gonna be huge. It's definitely one of those projects that's going to cause consternation among the locals who haven't been paying attention.
 
Ruairi said:
Just looking at that new US2 building as I was walking by this morning, from the renderings it seems like there's 27 or 28 floors ant this is currently at 6 or 7. Either way, this building is gonna be huge. It's definitely one of those projects that's going to cause consternation among the locals who haven't been paying attention.
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Meh. Walk through union square and it's pretty empty with lots of vacant storefronts. This will be a transformational change bringing a totally new vibe and hopefully some new blood. Even convenience stores close before 8pm. If they haven't been paying attention yet after 10 years of planning that's their fault.
 
Vagabond said:
Meh. Walk through union square and it's pretty empty with lots of vacant storefronts. This will be a transformational change bringing a totally new vibe and hopefully some new blood. Even convenience stores close before 8pm. If they haven't been paying attention yet after 10 years of planning that's their fault.
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oh yea, I'm not for one second complaining about the change (tho I did like the radiator grave yard :) )
 
This will be Somerville's 4th new tallest building in 10 years!!! (first Partners, then white residential in Assembly, then taller residential currently finishing up in Assembly) Even if this one tops off Union Square for a while, it looks like between McGrath and Assembly opportunities there will be more new Somerville tallest buildings to come!
 
Vagabond said:
Meh. Walk through union square and it's pretty empty with lots of vacant storefronts. This will be a transformational change bringing a totally new vibe and hopefully some new blood. Even convenience stores close before 8pm. If they haven't been paying attention yet after 10 years of planning that's their fault.
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This feels like a dated take from ~5 years ago before Bow Market and the absolute explosion of stuff in and around Sanborn Ct, especially the bars and nightlife. Yeah, the south side of the square has some big parcels landbanked for redevelopment but the north side of the square is more active than ever. I'd even throw out a marker and say it doesn't quite compare to Davis especially now that the Somerville Theatre is open again, but it's close. Pretty impressive for not having a T station yet.

To be clear, I expect "new union" to be much better than "old union" and well worth the price we'll pay to get there, but the current square is very much already transformed from even 5 years back. Most of that "new blood" you are hoping for is already moved in, just avoiding the buildings they know are slated for demolition.
 
Sincere question: Is this an especially wide core or does it just seem this way because of the contextually low level neighborhood? To my untrained it it looks very fat.
 
erom said:
This feels like a dated take from ~5 years ago before Bow Market and the absolute explosion of stuff in and around Sanborn Ct, especially the bars and nightlife.
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Agreed. For better or worse, I think Bow Market made enough of a splash to make Union Square a destination for folks not in Somerville/Cambridge. The first bits from this Boston Mag article from 2017 kinda capture my thoughts on it well. It used to be the only folks you saw walking around after sundown were grabbing beer from Reliable or heading home after dinner, now it feels like theres a constant flow of people through the square and they're lingering.
 
erom said:
This feels like a dated take from ~5 years ago before Bow Market and the absolute explosion of stuff in and around Sanborn Ct, especially the bars and nightlife. Yeah, the south side of the square has some big parcels landbanked for redevelopment but the north side of the square is more active than ever. I'd even throw out a marker and say it doesn't quite compare to Davis especially now that the Somerville Theatre is open again, but it's close. Pretty impressive for not having a T station yet.
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very well put. union sq. is pretty damn hoppin after dark and has been for a while. to characterize it as a place where "even convenience stores close before 8pm" is dated, at best. the stretch from celeste through cantina la mexicana (not to even mention bow market and all the places on somerville ave.) has tons of stuff -- lots of which doesn't even OPEN until 5pm on weekdays and most of which stay open pretty late (for boston...).
 
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