Assembly Square

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Assembly Square
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• The Assembly Square Mixed-Use Redevelopment is a
  transit-oriented development on approximately
  66.5 acres of land in the Assembly Square area of
  Somerville, Massachusetts.
• The project is designed to create a dynamic, 24/7
  environment with a complementary mix of
  commercial office, office research, retail,
  entertainment, and residential uses.
• The new development is distributed over 15 new
  buildings containing associated underground and
  structured parking in addition to being adjacent
  to a proposed MBTA subway stop.

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• Assembly Square in Somerville is conveniently
  located , just minutes from downtown Boston and
  Kendall Square in Cambridge.
• Harvard University, MIT, Tufts University and the
  Longwood Medical Area are all within a 3-mile
  radius.
• Assembly Square is immediately adjacent to
  Interstate 93, having excellent visibility and
  accessibility to the highway.

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• Assembly Square features a balanced
  transportation network, accommodating cars,
  transit riders, pedestrians and bicycles.
• A new MBTA Orange Line station, opening between
  2012 and 2015, will provide transit access to
  downtown Boston and points north.
• A new four-lane Assembly Square Drive will be the
  primary route through the site, connecting Route
  28 to the north to Mystic Avenue to the south.
  The landscaped roadway will accommodate bicycle
  lanes and pedestrian sidewalks as well as
  vehicular traffic.
• Several new east-west cross streets create a
  redundant and flexible grid.
• Two new roads will provide access to the Mystic
  River Reservation and an expansive riverfront
  park. The Main Street, which connects the MBTA
  Station to the Mystic River Reservation will also
  provide access to the River for transit riders,
  pedestrians, and office workers.
• A smaller-scale street grid, planned so that the
  blocks are a comfortable scale for walking, and
  lined with active uses.

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• 2,100 residential units (condominium and rental
  apartments)
• 1,750,000 SF of office and office research uses
• 340,000 SF IKEA
• 500,000 SF of other new retail and restaurant
  uses
• Continued use and occupancy of an existing
  330,000 SF retail
• power center
• 200-room hotel
• Approximately 10,100 spaces in underground
  garages, structured spaces inside buildings, and
  on-street parking
• Above-ground structures will be screened from the
  street with other uses and/or architectural or
  landscape treatment.

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The new development is oriented around a series
of Open Spaces connected by pedestrian-oriented
streets. Main Street, the spine of the mixed-use
development, will be open to cars and
pedestrians. The street will feature in-line
retail on both sides, with residential units
above. Assembly Square on the south side of the
Project Site will anchor the south end of Main
Street. Assembly Square will be lined with a
diverse mix of uses (offices, retail,
restaurants, entertainment and hotel) and will be
the cross roads and place of arrival to Assembly
Square for those arriving via the Orange Line.
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A new Riverfront Park will anchor the north end
of Main Street and serve as the place for public
gathering by the water. It will be lined with
retail and/or restaurants to encourage an active
edge. A new riverfront drive will separate the
new development from the Mystic River
Reservation, which will be widened by 20. A
Series of Pocket Parks, scaled for passive uses,
and intended to serve as an amenity for
residents, shoppers, office workers and visitors,
will be distributed throughout.
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The Project is conceived of as a walkable urban
district, with buildings built up to street to
form a street-wall, much like a typical downtown.
The tallest buildings are clustered around the T
Station to concentrate the highest density within
the easiest walk to transit access. The
buildings immediately around the T Station will
vary from 8-23 stories. Buildings will step down
as they approach the river to create a softer,
lower density edge along the water the
buildings along the waterfront are designed to be
4-6 stories.  
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Construction is planned in six principal phases
over nine to twelve years. Each phase represents
a critical mass of uses that creates a sense of
place and that can function independently until
additional phases are developed. Phase 1, as
currently planned, is expected to comprise three
waterfront mixed-use buildings (residential and
retail uses) and the inland IKEA store. It will
have an overall construction period of
approximately 24 months. Building 6A is an
11-14 story building which will include between
270,000 360,000 square feet of office space in
the upper 9-12 stories, 69,000 square feet of
retail at grade level, four levels of above-grade
parking and two levels of parking below grade.
This building can be independently developed from
the rest of the mixed-use project and it is
anticipated that the construction could begin as
early as third quarter of 2009 with delivery in
the fourth quarter of 2010.
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Services and shopping, including restaurants,
will be immediately available to tenants, both in
the lobby of Building 6A and in the waterfront
mixed-use buildings constructed in the projects
initial phase. The commercial buildings, office,
and office research are clustered at the southern
third of the site with excellent orientation to
both the MBTA station and Assembly Square Drive,
the major north/south route through the site
linking Route 28 and Mystic Avenue, and providing
access from Route 93 north and south bound.
Assembly Square Drive will be constructed
within the initial plan of Assembly Square.    
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  The project received PUD Preliminary Master
Plan approval from the City of Somerville in
December, 2006. Office, research and
development, and biotechnology-related
manufacturing are permitted uses requiring a
special permit.   Federal Realty will act as
master developer, obtaining the additionally
required entitlements for the project as a whole,
and special permits for individual buildings on a
parcel by parcel basis. In addition to the City
of Somerville approval process, the Project will
require approvals through various State
permitting processes including the MEPA process,
which is underway.