by David Dahlbacka in All Ages, Assembly Square, Beat Reporter, Development and Zoning, Environment and Open Space, Events, Orange Line, Transportation Projects
Posted on May 20, 2012 at 7:07 pm
Last Modified on May 28, 2012 at 12:59 pm
| May 30, 2012 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 8:00 pm |
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Assembly Square PAC Meeting
Wed May 30 6:00 – 8:00 PM
Assembly Row Marketing Center
Foley St. at Assembly Square Drive
Somerville MA (map)
This is the regular Assembly Square Public Advisory Committee meeting.
Assembly Row and Assembly Square T-Stop development has started. It’s time to move ahead with the Transportation Mitigation Plan.
For more information, see Assembly Square Mixed-Use Development Project.
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Beat Report: 5/30/12 Assembly Square PAC Meeting
Bottom Line on Top
Assembly Square Drive to finish June 30. Block 1 apartments to be occupied Fall 2013, blocks 1, 3, and 4 retail to open Spring 2014. Riverside park construction to start 2013.
No office or R&D leases, although FRIT is looking. FRIT is unwilling to start Transportation Management Association because IKEA money is supposed to start it. FRIT would be comfortable with Wal-Mart although Wal-Mart is not consistent with comprehensive plan. FRIT will not tell contractors to hire Somervillians but will work with Jobs for Somerville on a list of local people and their skills.
Rough Notes
Present: David Webster, Peter Tsourianis, Wig Zamore, Linda Bohan, Lynn McWhood, Jane Bestor, Ellin Reisner, Mary Jo Connelly, Richard Nilsson, David Dahlbacka, others.
[Comment: I don’t know the names of all participants. Please add and correct.]
No settled agenda. Updates:
General utilities in. Surface streets paved. Avalon Bay constructing Block 1, FRIT constructing Block 3. Ground improvement now. Geo-piers into the ground. Gavel and grout, then foundations. Subcontractor to start Block 4 later. All three retail buildings to open Spring 2014. Block 1 apartments to be occupied Fall 2013.
Retail open will be the critical mass. Block 2 to start construction early 2013. Block 2 will be apartments over retail, not the hotel. Probably Avalon Bay.
Small building between 1 and 2 to come.
Riverside park designed. Putting in for permit from MWRA. Hope to be through process end of summer, park construction 2013.
Winter Hill Yacht Club secured. Acquired land from DCR, gave DCR parkland in return. No boats to be stored here again. Expect preconstruction meeting, Conservation Commission order of conditions. Done with licenses and permits. Ch. 91 master plan approved.
Assembly Square Drive due to finish June 30. May be punch list after that. Inspecting traffic signals, street lights. New lighting begun on Rt. 28. One year warranty on landscaping. Will keep track of landscaping and plants. Brought in 9 London plane trees, came back after winter.
Storm water outfall done and operating. No construction yet on T-stop. Contractor delivering materials. First scope of work very complicated (swinging tracks). Signal work in 2 weeks.
Wig: Easier to work late at night. No neighbors to be disturbed.
David W.: Limited work window. All power has to be turned off after last train at 1:30. Train has to return to yard before power down, so power down takes until 2:30. Have to restart service 5 AM. Not much work time. Completion deadline 2014.
Building 3 is 200,000 s.f. of retail, including cinema and parking on 5 levels. Have lease with AMC for cinema. Like theater in Dedham. Various concessions, but probably not dinner theater.
Q: Space that can be used for performance?
David W.: Not likely.
Wig: Useful to show foreign language films, considering local demographic.
Good momentum on retail leasing. One local restaurant signed, can’t give name. Interest from another, also a regional one. Expect more leases by end of year. Want all leased and opening 2014.
Q: Rumor about outlet stores?
David W.: Yes, huge demand given closest outlet stores are in Wrentham and Kittery. More vertical integration in retailers. One kind of customer at outlet, full price customer at downtown. Not Wrentham; it’s an urban project, vertically integrated, not a horseshoe or racetrack. Will be restaurants, not a food court.
Q: Bookstore?
David W.: Hard to find one.
Q: E-books. Would suggest a library building, see them in mixed-use areas. May have coffee shops, do electronic stuff.
Q: What about IKEA?
David W.: They need to make decision. They own the property.
Wig: City shortened permit extension last time they requested one.
David W.: Office leasing active. One possible user of up to 500,000 s.f. Local, growing company. Office space a difficult sell; nothing here yet, vacancy downtown. Pursuing Cambridge companies. We created a plan for an office campus on Block 7. Cambridge address is still a draw. Problem is there’s nothing here yet. Customers need to see something real here.
Q: Will residences to good enough?
David W.: Block 1 is empty nesters, Block 4 less expensive — 2 BR or one BR with office.
Wig: Lot of people working in Kendall live in Somerville.
Ellin: Lombardi way to Broadway good. Not complete. Needs more lighting. Fencing temporary. Great on one side, salt pit on the other side. Bad stuff under Ten Hills underpass.
Ellin: Lot of opposition to Wal-Mart grocery. Space is part of master plan.
David W.: Not in our plan.
Ellin: If they build grocery for I-93 people, customer parking could cut into parking ceiling.
Wig: Cuts into the traffic ceiling, not the parking.
David W.: We haven’t thought about IKEA or Wal-Mart. Not a big problem for us. Shadow anchor. Might attract traffic to other retailers.
Wig: Wal-Mart form is not urban. Parking lot, highway based food store. Not integrated into Assembly Square form. Much rather it was in your form. There are groceries on first floor of mixed use.
Ellin: Wal-Mart form doesn’t fit into comprehensive plan for the area.
Jane: Winter market at Armory very successful. Could there be a farmer’s market?
David W.: We have plan for farmer’s market between 1 and 2.
Wig: Don’t want to pull people away from Armory. There aren’t enough residents of Assembly Square to support a farmer’s market.
David D.: Start transportation mitigation plan?
David W.: First money coming from IKEA. We to come in later.
Wig: We made a mistake assuming IKEA to start. Good question however the funding goes. Traffic has to work if FRIT is to be successful. Path also triggered by IKEA.
David W.: We’re building up to the IKEA property line.
Wig: Once complete, will be a huge aid to East Somerville. What will lots look like on other parcels?
David W.: 7 and 8 be large parking lot, with berm and grass.
Q: Lombardi Street now has traffic lights. But on several occasions the light at the underpass gets ignored by cars going north on Mystic Ave. It’s very close to other light. Needs to be adjusted so people will notice it.
Light on New Road between office building and Home Depot. Will be a stop after June 30. Also a light at Foley and Middlesex. Used to be lights there in the past.
Wig: Same with Rossland Street light.
Peter: Can we look into a shuttle going around the loop from Sullivan via Broadway? We want access to the rest of E. Somerville. Will help workers coming to Sullivan Square. Lots of people come to Sullivan on bus.
David W.: Bus connections will evolve as site grows. Some routes may not make sense once T-stop comes in.
Wig: Need to start tracking the bus routes planning. It’s a zero sum game.
Ellin: STEP did bus survey a few years ago. Want to do it again. One big gap is North South connections. Also West Somerville to here.
Wig: Todd Fontanella was a champion of the T shuttle. A circular route, “the mini bus.”
Lynn: Not well planned. Duplication, hard to find stops. No ridership.
Ellin: Want a place here that people can work at. Need to anticipate change. If you don’t have Orange Line, need some alternative.
David W.: Sewer mitigation in Ten Hills starting in July, separating storm drain from sewer and replacing pipe. Shore Drive up to Puritan.
Wig: Good to have a Ten Hills meeting before you start. How is the outfall working?
David W.: Not seeing signs of it backing up. Water Alliance counting fish. Alewives are in the river right now.
Q: Need baiting and trapping of rats and rodents.
David W.: Contractors not doing it. City has raised it with Mass DOT. We have a coyote close to the river. Contractors see it early in the morning.
Q: Someone asked me about payment of the T. $25M. Who is paying for the T-Stop?
David W.: FRIT and the state. Economic development money from state.
Q: What about the city DIF?
David W.: FRIT to receive $3M from City for outfall, $25M for Assembly Square Drive, $10M for other roads.
Q: FRIT not paying for infrastructure?
David W.: We are, also city and state.
Wig: Confusing. Federal money didn’t come, IKEA money shifted.
Q: Why is T coming if MBTA has no money?
David W.: MBTA isn’t paying much.
Wig: Rebuilding downtown stations was > $1 B. This is cheaper because it’s on existing tracks.
Ellin: Have the shuttle bus stop at site of Assembly Square T-Stop.
David W.: Nighttime work is track work. Will have day work once that’s done.
Q: Terrible traffic on Rt. 28 from Gateway mall.
Wig: See people in wheelchairs going to Meadow Glen Mall.
Wig: People are here interested in jobs. What are we doing to feed people to jobs?
David W.: Contributed to city. We only control our 15 jobs. Other jobs are union.
Wig: Did contractors look at job distribution?
David W.: Subcontractors are working with unions, assigning people to jobs.
Wig: In Boston, private sector contractors have to use local hire. Is there something the city and community should do to train people?
David W.: City has training programs.
Wig: Are you working with city?
David W.: We won’t be telling retailers who to hire.
Wig: Are there things we can do make good candidates?
David W.: City will know about coming retail openings because of building permits. If city knows 30 days before building start, and it takes 90 days to build, retailer will start thinking about employees at beginning.
Mary Jo: trying to develop opportunities for local people and those with impediments. Talking to unions. Looking into first-source hiring. People who have retail experience but no computer experience. Want to provide local source. Not clear what pathways are available. Had agreement with IKEA to give first priority to local people.
Wig: Would be win-win if we can find a pathway for local people.
David W.: We can facilitate hooking up retailers with job force people.
Wig: Can get priority list of skills. Want to find things of mutual benefit.
Q: What would be a good step now?
David W.: We’ll provide a bridge between tenants and people working for jobs.
Q: We would go to you to help?
David W.: We could provide our tenants with a list of training programs, local organizations to find people.
Q: Welcome to Somerville for Employers.
Wig: Need someone to be a conduit. David W. can serve that purpose.
Mary Jo: Need to compile list of people with specific skills.
David W.: I’ll give you my contact info.
Mary Jo: Worked a lot on economic plan for training. Telecom city didn’t work.
Wig: Don’t be fixed on one industry. Biotech not the be-all and end-all.
Mary Jo: Make sure to provide jobs for poorer people with lower skills. They need opportunities.
Wig: Somerville short 6000 jobs/sq. mi.
Draw 7 park gets a lot of use. Soccer playing, fishing.
Underpass still in play. Due to going out to bid soon.
Q: Negative impact of sewer development on Ten Hills?
David W.: Don’t know. Agree we need to hold a meeting there. We aren’t touching water supply.
Q: Meet at Mystic Activity Center. Lots of politicians now live in Ten Hills.
Q; When Block 10 restaurant to open?
David W.: This year. A small place, two restaurants.
Q: Any theme for the restaurants in your development?
David W.: Try to create a mix. Want good restaurants. Not all full service. Will be quick serve in small buildings. Counter service, not wait at table. Ice cream, bakery, etc.
Wig: Talking to local brewers? Like Pretty Things, Slum Brewers. They rent space at existing brewers using their recipes.
Q: Will you have liquor licenses?
David W.: FRIT won’t ever have them. Could be as many as 20 licenses available, about 9 specific to A.S.
Ellin: What about windmill?
[Comment: I think this referred to new windmill on Malden side of river.]
Wig: Windmill worked well, but foundation sank too far. I never hear noise from blades. Local birds fly around it. Big hearing tonight on Cape Wind.
See people looking at your sign and talking about it.
David D.: Facebook page getting activity.
David W.: I know nothing about Facebook.
[Comment: Meeting ended 7:45.]
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