US2 Redevelopment | Union Square | Somerville

The big problem in Union Square, which I haven't see anyone seriously address yet, is what to do about the NStar transformer array now occupying a soon-to-be-prime parcel of land, on the other side of the tracks.
 
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kjdonovan said:
I thought it was worth it to post a link to the actual proposal the city is making, which isn't available through the link I provided a couple weeks ago. What's interesting about this proposal is that it looks like it is trying to relocate the core of the square. For those familiar with Union, activity is centered on the north side of Somerville Ave and around Bow St.

By proposing to demolish around 30 buildings (some of them quite large), the city envisions essentially building four large blocks of a major commercial center from scratch - and relocating the center of development in the square from the intersection of Somerville Ave/Prospect to Prospect/Webster, which is currently a wasteland.

http://somerville.patch.com/article...or-redevelopment-of-union-square#pdf-11040113
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I think that's interesting too, about shifting what it means when people say "Union Square" to be more centered around the station. I always thought where Washington Streets crosses the commuter rail tracks a bit further north and west of where the station will be located would have mode more sense. It would have felt much more a part of the square already.
 
MBTAddict said:
I think that's interesting too, about shifting what it means when people say "Union Square" to be more centered around the station. I always thought where Washington Streets crosses the commuter rail tracks a bit further north and west of where the station will be located would have mode more sense. It would have felt much more a part of the square already.
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I think the ultimate "best possible" solution is to plop between Washington and Webster and allow access from both.

I think they stopped short so they didn't have to deal with removing/moving the substation.

This would also allow for good spacing to allow a station on the east side of Medford St. Couple this together with a McGrath removal and a gentrifying/redeveloping Brickbottom and you've really hit upon something.
 
BostonUrbEx said:
I think the ultimate "best possible" solution is to plop between Washington and Webster and allow access from both.

I think they stopped short so they didn't have to deal with removing/moving the substation.

This would also allow for good spacing to allow a station on the east side of Medford St. Couple this together with a McGrath removal and a gentrifying/redeveloping Brickbottom and you've really hit upon something.
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Moving the substation is a long-term fight they have to do with NStar. NStar doesn't ever want to lift a finger when it doesn't have to, and they dig in their heels and delay the pressure into submission. For good reason in most cases...nobody wants a substation in their backyard, so where nearby do you move one that's not also going to face opposition? Keep in mind, they can't usually move very far because of how complicated the trunk electrical hookups are and how critical they are to the immediate surroundings. And residents really really REALLY don't want a glitchy connection while the utility is migrating their equipment or location (ask Back Bay residents who had to deal with unreliable service for weeks while that asploded transformer was repaired). It's harder than you think, and NStar is well within its rights to resist if the city or state don't go above and beyond the call of duty to pony up funding to ease the transition.

I think that'll happen here eventually, but that triangle is probably going to stick around a few years longer as a dead zone after the GLX station opens. Too many things to coordinate, and too much inertia-of-rest with the utility.
 
NStar is already having to move some much smaller piece of equipment to make way for Gilman Square station.

I wonder if it's possible to build over the substation, like the Marriott hotel in Kendall Square?
 
Ron Newman said:
NStar is already having to move some much smaller piece of equipment to make way for Gilman Square station.

I wonder if it's possible to build over the substation, like the Marriott hotel in Kendall Square?
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Possible. Although that thing is tall enough that it would look out of place with its surroundings.

It depends on whether that's the main neighborhood hookup or if it's a remote installation feeding something a little further away. If that's the lifeline for the Square and fans out power to the residential in a direct radius around it...then it's tough to move. If it's feeding the Brickbottom or Innerbelt areas instead via an underground trunk dug along or under the Fitchburg Line...yeah, then they probably have more attractive options for relocating it up or downstream.
 
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I have no beef with either one. Simple industrial aesthetic for a former industrial area seems reasonably thoughtful to me. I'll take "boring" over hodgepodge any day.

Also, notice the woven appearance to the brick. That's subtle and cool. I like it.
 
Ruairi said:
oh joy, two huge boxes. Do the people designing these things actually go out and look at the site and surrounds or do they just click 'cost effective box' in the dropdown and whack 'return'?
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Yes and no. Yup, boxes. But they have subtleties that give them some dimensionality instead of the usual dead flat wallpaper facade. The brick building has a basket weave design that slightly curves in and out between all the windows.
Oh, scooped by fattony.
 
Brad Plaid said:
Yes and no. Yup, boxes. But they have subtleties that give them some dimensionality instead of the usual dead flat wallpaper facade. The brick building has a basket weave design that slightly curves in and out between all the windows.
Oh, scooped by fattony.
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They have some interesting texture and could be worse I suppose. I just feel that they'll be building these huge cubes in residential communities and although there's a nod to the industrial history, there seems to be very little done to incorporate them with what already exists on webster or prospect. Maybe it'll all make sense in 2040 or whenever the rest of Union gets built out.
 
It looks like these are only the first 2 out of 5 buildings total, and at least one will stretch as high as 24 stories. So these are kind of just laying the ground work for bigger things to come.
 
Ruairi said:
They have some interesting texture and could be worse I suppose. I just feel that they'll be building these huge cubes in residential communities and although there's a nod to the industrial history, there seems to be very little done to incorporate them with what already exists on webster or prospect. Maybe it'll all make sense in 2040 or whenever the rest of Union gets built out.
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It's going to be tough to incorporate into the existing area when the whole area has just been significantly upzoned.

24 storey residential tower will look pretty out of place here for a while.

But, with this and the other proposed developments in the area, this will become the new context rather quickly. Just in time for that new green line stop.
 
It has been a long time since I have been to Union Square and these renderings look like a midwest college campus. Where are these buildings going?
 
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