Mixed Use (40B Fmr Star Market) | 299 Broadway | Winter Hill | Somerville

kjdonovan

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New proposal teased for 299 Broadway, i.e., the vacant Star Market lot at Broadway/Temple. Developer is Marks Development, the guys doing One Kenmore. Design team is led by Jeff Speck, aka my urban design dream boy. Plan is still sketchy but drawing inspiration from Bow Market for the retail and plaza bit. Light tan in the below is lobby. No word on height. Currently next to no parking. Does not include the corner liquor store lots. Mods: given this is also the site of an urban renewal plan just approved by the state in record time, I suggest a new thread for this parcel.
BA8667E7-5964-4A84-B794-9A28F505B751.jpeg
 
Not enough different materials on the facade. 40 is not enough. Glue some more inane shit on there.

a reasonable criticism, but i'd take the most lame-brained, sure-to-be-dated-in-five-years design, completely stuffed to the brim with offset windows, clashing colors of alucobond paneling, and throwaway "art installations" over the vacant, crime-magnet lot that's been there for the past 15 (or whatever -- 17?) years.
 
I shopped there in the mid 90's when I lived on Sycamore St. Is there another/"new" grocery store nearby?
 
Recent coverage in Cambridge Day on this project seeking the relevant waivers. Seems like a popular project (46% income restricted), though the "Civic Plaza" looks like a waste of space to me.


It does serve to break up the block where a side street would often be, and it's drawn as if it would be programmed with tables to eat and such.
 
Recent coverage in Cambridge Day on this project seeking the relevant waivers. Seems like a popular project (46% income restricted), though the "Civic Plaza" looks like a waste of space to me.

build it yesterday! absolutely mind-boggling that such a large lot in such an in-demand zip code could languish as a dilapitated eyesore/outdoor meth and coke market for 16 years.
 

Boston Realty Advisors handles sale of 299 Broadway
in the Winter Hill neighborhood of Somerville, MA​

November 10, 2023 - Front Section
299%20Broadway.jpg


“Somerville, MA Boston Realty Advisors brokered the sale of 299 Bdwy., a promising development site.

The 2.6-acre site, at 299 Bdwy. and 15 Temple St., is in the Winter Hill neighborhood of the city. It is now the location of a Walgreens pharmacy, a former Star Market and a parking lot. The sale closed on October 11th.

“It was a pleasure working with both the buyer and seller on this transaction,” said Jason Weissman, principal and founder of Boston Realty Advisors. “The development partnership of Mark Development and Beacon Communities will add much-needed affordable housing to the city of Somerville.”

299 Bdwy. is less than a half mile from the Gilman Sq. stop on the MBTA’s Green Line Extension and along several MBTA-operated bus lines.

Mark Development and its partners at Beacon Communities and RISE Together are proposing a residential project in the Winter Hill neighborhood. Located in a long-underutilized section of Broadway, the project (proposed under Chapter 40B) is inspired by the Winter Hill neighborhood plan and offers a mix of affordable and market-rate residential units, retail space, community gathering areas, and a new arts and creative civic enterprise space. The project, which is comprised of two mixed-use buildings, will create a new civic pocket plaza along Broadway and a new neighborhood pocket park on Sewall St.

Key Project Elements:
• 288 rental housing units (studio to three-bedroom);
• 13,640 s/f of ground floor retail space;
• 3,000 s/f of community space (flexible meeting area);
• 765 s/f of arts & creative enterprise space; and
• 15,000 s/f of publicly accessible civic space (plaza and park).

Project Design:
Two mixed-use buildings (totaling 330,000 s/f) anchor the project, filling in a gap in the existing Broadway streetscape. Architects at Utile were inspired by the scale and character of the existing residential buildings on Broadway, the project is designed to resemble a collection of eight buildings of different sizes and architectural styles. Building heights transition from six stories along Broadway and Temple Sts.
to four stories adjacent to the abutting residential area.

The building design and location on the site creates an opportunity for two important new public spaces: a new civic pocket plaza on Broadway which establishes a significant part of the overall public realm design strategy and a new neighborhood pocket park on Sewall Street connected to the civic pocket plaza on Broadway via a landscaped pedestrian mews which will be publicly accessible at all times. Both have been designed by Future Green Studios.
The pocket plaza creates a valuable civic space by providing a safe and active pedestrian space surrounded by retail café zones. Embedded street furniture will create defined gathering spaces and the plaza offers a permeable paving carpet featuring a grouping of trees. The park will include informal seating areas, sustainable trees and plantings, and intuitive play areas. Like the civic pocket plaza it will contribute to the site-wide stormwater management system and will be designed to promote native habitats, including birds and pollinators.

For more information on the future development of the site and parties involved, please visit https://www.299broadwaysomerville.com .”

https://nerej.com/boston-realty-advisors-handles-sale-of-299-broadway
 

Boston Realty Advisors handles sale of 299 Broadway​

in the Winter Hill neighborhood of Somerville, MA​

November 10, 2023 - Front Section
299%20Broadway.jpg


“Somerville, MA Boston Realty Advisors brokered the sale of 299 Bdwy., a promising development site.

The 2.6-acre site, at 299 Bdwy. and 15 Temple St., is in the Winter Hill neighborhood of the city. It is now the location of a Walgreens pharmacy, a former Star Market and a parking lot. The sale closed on October 11th.

“It was a pleasure working with both the buyer and seller on this transaction,” said Jason Weissman, principal and founder of Boston Realty Advisors. “The development partnership of Mark Development and Beacon Communities will add much-needed affordable housing to the city of Somerville.”

299 Bdwy. is less than a half mile from the Gilman Sq. stop on the MBTA’s Green Line Extension and along several MBTA-operated bus lines.

Mark Development and its partners at Beacon Communities and RISE Together are proposing a residential project in the Winter Hill neighborhood. Located in a long-underutilized section of Broadway, the project (proposed under Chapter 40B) is inspired by the Winter Hill neighborhood plan and offers a mix of affordable and market-rate residential units, retail space, community gathering areas, and a new arts and creative civic enterprise space. The project, which is comprised of two mixed-use buildings, will create a new civic pocket plaza along Broadway and a new neighborhood pocket park on Sewall St.

Key Project Elements:
• 288 rental housing units (studio to three-bedroom);
• 13,640 s/f of ground floor retail space;
• 3,000 s/f of community space (flexible meeting area);
• 765 s/f of arts & creative enterprise space; and
• 15,000 s/f of publicly accessible civic space (plaza and park).

Project Design:
Two mixed-use buildings (totaling 330,000 s/f) anchor the project, filling in a gap in the existing Broadway streetscape. Architects at Utile were inspired by the scale and character of the existing residential buildings on Broadway, the project is designed to resemble a collection of eight buildings of different sizes and architectural styles. Building heights transition from six stories along Broadway and Temple Sts.
to four stories adjacent to the abutting residential area.

The building design and location on the site creates an opportunity for two important new public spaces: a new civic pocket plaza on Broadway which establishes a significant part of the overall public realm design strategy and a new neighborhood pocket park on Sewall Street connected to the civic pocket plaza on Broadway via a landscaped pedestrian mews which will be publicly accessible at all times. Both have been designed by Future Green Studios.
The pocket plaza creates a valuable civic space by providing a safe and active pedestrian space surrounded by retail café zones. Embedded street furniture will create defined gathering spaces and the plaza offers a permeable paving carpet featuring a grouping of trees. The park will include informal seating areas, sustainable trees and plantings, and intuitive play areas. Like the civic pocket plaza it will contribute to the site-wide stormwater management system and will be designed to promote native habitats, including birds and pollinators.

For more information on the future development of the site and parties involved, please visit https://www.299broadwaysomerville.com .”

https://nerej.com/boston-realty-advisors-handles-sale-of-299-broadway
@BeeLine @Arlington Time for its own thread?
 
Mod note: I created a new thread but then discovered we had an older "Winter Hill Start Market Redevelopment" thread. Please direct all comments about this 40B mixed use project on the slope of Winter Hill to this consolidated thread.
 

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