CITY TO SEEK REVISIONS TO ASSEMBLY SQUARE URBAN RENEWAL PLAN

The City of Somerville is pursuing revisions to Assembly Square’s Urban Renewal Plan to ensure that the properties within the entire renewal area are developed to their highest and best use and fulfill the community’s vision of a vibrant, transit-oriented urban district.  The overall boundaries of the urban renewal area would not be changed as a result of the proposed amendments to the plan.

The proposed changes result from the evolution of the site, beginning with IKEA announcing in July 2012 that it would not proceed with developing a 12-acre parcel within Assembly Square. That decision created the opportunity and the need to reexamine how the City could ensure the best use for not only the IKEA lot but also for the full 129.2 acres of the urban renewal district.

Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRIT) is redeveloping 56.2 acres in the district as part of the Assembly Row development. The approximately 73 remaining acres include single-story big box retail stores, a former multi-screen movie theatre, an office building and several smaller commercial-industrial buildings located within the urban renewal area.

The plan change would provide added flexibility in support of mixed use development on the remaining acreage within the renewal area. It would also identify infrastructure needs and possible acquisition parcels that were not specified in either the original 1980 Urban Renewal Plan or the major plan change of 2002.

To guide this process, the Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development has submitted an appropriation request of $500,000 to the Board of Aldermen, and will be presenting information in support ofr the request during upcoming meetings of the Finance Committee. That funding would pay for professional consultants in the areas of planning and design, financial and economic analysis, infrastructure capacity, engineering, legal and appraisal services. These combined efforts would be expected to result in proposed plan changes that would then go before the Somerville Redevelopment Authority and, if approved by the Redevelopment Authority and the Planning Board, to the Board of Aldermen for approval before submitting the proposed changes to the state.

Careful planning now will ensure that future development complements and enhances the uses already approved and under construction at Assembly Row. Potential changes to the Urban Renewal Plan would be built upon the vision set forth in the 2002 major plan change, which envisioned “the redevelopment of Assembly Square as a more urban ‘mixed use’ area … (and) projects the continued migration of industrial uses from the district and a gradual phase-in of mixed use development, including residential, office, retail and entertainment uses…. These mixed use developments will include significant open spaces to add to the existing parks along the Mystic River and some new open spaces at the heart of the district.”

“IKEA has been a great partner over the years and was instrumental in jump-starting Assembly Row, but with their decision not to develop the site, we have a better opportunity to continue transforming Assembly Square into the kind of smart growth development we want to see,” Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone said. “With the first new MBTA station in more than a quarter-century on schedule to open at Assembly Square next year, and with zoning in place and the major infrastructure components ready, we are committed to working with community residents, our elected officials, and all interested parties to set the stage for the whole of Assembly Square to become a walkable, bikeable, transit-oriented neighborhood filled with new businesses and homes.”

Ward 1 Alderman Maureen Bastardi said, “Assembly Square holds the greatest potential in Somerville to create jobs and give our residents tax relief by expanding the city’s commercial tax base. It’s exciting to see FRIT’s progress so far, and updating the Urban Renewal Plan takes advantage of this opportunity to keep Assembly Square moving in the right direction and building the newest, vibrant Ward 1 neighborhood.”

Wig Zamore, a founding and active member of both Mystic View Task Force and Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership wholeheartedly agreed with the importance of pushing ahead with the full transformation of Assembly Square.

“The four multi-story, mixed use blocks next to the expanded Mystic River park and the new Orange Line Station that will be open in 2014 should provide tremendous momentum for the completion of Assembly Row and the evolution of 21^st century urban fabric across the rest of Assembly Square,” Zamore said. “These features, including the new main street with local retailers and mixed income rental housing, should provide a great foundation for continued development of mixed use which complements Somerville’s most pressing long term needs. As Somerville has Massachusetts’ greatest shortage of local jobs per square mile relative to resident workers, it is especially important that we develop an intense and diverse array of new jobs, including university related research and development, so that a sustainable live-work balance is restored and then maintained within the community.”

The original Urban Renewal Plan adopted in 1980 sought to guide the transition of the long-standing industrial and warehouse uses at Assembly Square to commercial uses such as retail, office and entertainment. It defined the site as 129.2 acres and identified specific parcels for the Somerville Redevelopment Authority (SRA) to acquire for eventual redevelopment by private entities.

With the original 1980 plan set to expire after 20 years, the City of Somerville undertook a major effort in 1999 to update the Urban Renewal Plan in a manner that better reflected changes on the Assembly Square site, in the Greater Boston economy and in Somerville itself. That resulted in the 2002 major plan change.

In March of 2004, the Assembly Square Mixed Use District was adopted as part of the City of Somerville Zoning Code.

Today, with four buildings now under construction by FRIT and their partners, the promise of Assembly Square envisioned by the 1980 Urban Renewal Plan and the 2002 Major Plan Change is now becoming a reality. By the Spring of 2014, hundreds of apartments will be occupied, with 56 of those units being permanently affordable. Retail shops, restaurants and a 12-screen AMC movie theater will be in operation. A 100,000-square-foot office building is also currently under construction, and developers are confident that a major tenant will occupy the building upon completion.