Assembly Innovation Park | 5 Middlesex Ave | Somerville

It looks like the parking lot that is Block 23 on the map in
tysmith95 said:
A four phase 1.9 million square foot development is being planned across from Assembly Row in East Somerville. Construction of phase one is expected to commence in spring 2017. The developer is RD Management and not FRIT (the developer of the rest of Assembly Row and the adjacent strip mall). Up until a few years ago this site had a movie theatre. Currently it holds one small office building on the corner of the site that will be retained.



http://www.bldup.com/projects/5-middlesex-avenue

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http://www.bankerandtradesman.com/2016/10/1-9m-sf-assembly-square-development-plans-detailed/
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The parking lot that is marked Block 23 is all dug up. Is construction underway?
 
Found an interesting render of the XMBLY development. This along with the u/c Puma hq should add a pretty good amount of jobs to this OL stop.
XMBLY_Mixed_Use_no-overlay.jpg

Link
 
I see s much potential in this area... the empty parking lots, the target, some industry there too.. Encore + Assembly + Entertainment District... this area can be amazing.
 
Equilibria said:
Sad news - gigantic downgrade for this. It's gone full-on office park."
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The Phase 1 stays the same, and I like that the awkward existing 5 Middlesex building and high-speed off-ramp are going away. A good portion of the garage will be the new Somerville fire station. The parking garage positioning also lends itself to a vertical addition a few years down the road.

Did the foundation begin for the residential yet?
 
One thing I appreciate about the new design is they have the taller buildings up against the highway as a shield. If you do get anyone using that park in the middle it will be a much more pleasant experience.
 
Vagabond said:
The Phase 1 stays the same, and I like that the awkward existing 5 Middlesex building and high-speed off-ramp are going away. A good portion of the garage will be the new Somerville fire station. The parking garage positioning also lends itself to a vertical addition a few years down the road.

Did the foundation begin for the residential yet?
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I'll give them credit for the fire station - I didn't notice that.
 
From what I can gather, the decision to take down the existing office building may have driven a redesign of the other portions of the project? Is anyone aware of a initially proposed vs currently proposed breakdown of height, sqft, number of units, etc?
 
sm89 said:
From what I can gather, the decision to take down the existing office building may have driven a redesign of the other portions of the project? Is anyone aware of a initially proposed vs currently proposed breakdown of height, sqft, number of units, etc?
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It appears that the entire future phase of the project has gone office/lab - there were multiple residential buildings before. Outside of "Alta XMBLY", there are no longer any units of housing.

It wouldn't surprise me if the decision to go with lab space spurred the decision to take down the office building - there wasn't enough demand for that grade of office to justify keeping it.
 
Walked by this morning and it looks like the foundation work for the residentual building is underway.
 
Massachoicetts said:
I see s much potential in this area... the empty parking lots, the target, some industry there too.. Encore + Assembly + Entertainment District... this area can be amazing.
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Yes, but unless it gets better integration with existing Somerville neighborhoods (and Everett), it will only be helicopter urbanism, no matter how well done each individual block or building might be.
 
Not really news (as this was discussed upthread) but the Globe ran a short update today about this project moving forward with the City holding a hearing on the developers' request to replace residential with office/lab. Somerville really wants to build up its commercial tax base, so that change shouldn't be an issue.

www.bostonglobe.com

Major project near Assembly Row is moving forward, with more lab space - The Boston Globe

Development is an indication that the life sciences industry is still growing, despite the recession.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com

Most interesting quote, from the developer: "If we’re fortunate, [we’ll] break ground at the end of 2021."
 
JumboBuc said:
Not really news (as this was discussed upthread) but the Globe ran a short update today about this project moving forward with the City holding a hearing on the developers' request to replace residential with office/lab. Somerville really wants to build up its commercial tax base, so that change shouldn't be an issue.

www.bostonglobe.com

Major project near Assembly Row is moving forward, with more lab space - The Boston Globe

Development is an indication that the life sciences industry is still growing, despite the recession.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com

Most interesting quote, from the developer: "If we’re fortunate, [we’ll] break ground at the end of 2021."
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Finally a render of the changes.

SFHUERM5BZAO5AGQMHD56YBCMQ.png
 
It will be interesting to see how this lab space plays in the future market.

Being T connected to Longwood and Kendall (via transfer) doesn't exactly have the allure it once had.
 
JeffDowntown said:
It will be interesting to see how this lab space plays in the future market.

Being T connected to Longwood and Kendall (via transfer) doesn't exactly have the allure it once had.
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There is no evidence whatsoever that there will not be an allure in 2025 when these buildings would be finished.

It's office/lab space with highway and T access, a local high-talent residential neighborhood, and direct advertising onto 93. That's not a hard sell.

PS - the phase I residential component foundation work appears to be opening up again. The whole Assembly neighborhood had lots of people walking around even with all the retail stores still closed. Says a lot about the growth of the neighborhood.
 
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