New Assembly Square Orange Line Stop

[Tim Jackson]

Apologies if this has already been posted, but I have not seen it:

Somerville plans new T stop

A $40 million Orange Line station that would be part of a new waterfront district next to the Assembly Square Mall is in the works.

State and federal transportation officials gathered along the banks of the Mystic River yesterday to announce the project. The state is seeking $25 million in federal grants for the station, while a private developer, Federal Realty, has agreed to chip in $15 million. Though federal officials only received the proposal papers two weeks ago, Federal Transit Administrator Jim Simpson asserted, ?I don?t see any reason why it wouldn?t get funded.?

The proposed Assembly Square station is part of a massive redevelopment project by Federal Realty to build a new ?urban village? next to the current Assembly Square Mall that will include residential, office, retail and green space, restaurants and a movie theater. Construction of the T station is expected to last from 2010 to 2013.

Somerville officials hope this proposed MBTA station ? which would fall between Wellington and Sullivan Square stations on the Orange Line ? will attract riders in the Assembly Square area.

While Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen acknowledged the MBTA is struggling to maintain its infrastructure, he asserted that ?if we lose sight of our need to grow our transportation system, then we?re going to lose sight of our ability to grow our economy.?

LINK (http://www.metrobostonnews.com/us/article/2008/08/21/02/4251-72/index.xml)

I read a similar article that didn't offer much more in terms of details about the station, but the comments following it seemed to be a bit disapproving of the concept of a new station (I'll say the commenters were split 50/50). I am relatively unfamiliar with the area and the Assembly Square project, so I am really not in a great spot to comment, but I would like to hear other peoples' reactions.

[ablarc]

What was once a bustling enclosed mall with Kmart and Jordan Marsh became a ghost town by the later 90's. This mall probably opened in the early 80's in this former Ford Manufacturing plant. Through the 80's and first half of 90's it seemed to be doing fairly well.

In 1996, Jordan Marsh, along with all other Jordan Marsh's was converted to Macy*s. However, in 1997 Macy*s closed the store at Assembly Square. The smaller stores quickly retreated and finally a Building 19 salvage store opened in the former department store space.

However, the mall was still dying. The McDonald's and Dunkin Donuts closed and the mall entrance and Kmart's mall entrance were sealed off. For the next few years the mall was closed with only the Building 19 and Kmart remaining, but with the mall entrances sealed. Surprisingly Kmart renovated their store during this time.

I don't understand why this mall failed. It is in a very desirable high traffic location, visible from route 93. The Home Depot next door is one of their highest sales locations and the new Gateway shopping center across the river is always packed. Ikea has and still continues to fight to build a store across the parking lot from the mall, however they have since built another Boston area store, but are still committed to Assembly Square.

In 2004, plans surfaced to de-mall the site. Building 19 was forced to close their store. The mall was gutted out and would be turned into a strip mall of Big Box stores. In late 2005, Christmas Tree Shops opened in part of the former Macy's/Jordan Marsh store. A TJ Maxx / Homegoods also opened in areas that were formally mall. In the winter of 2006, new stores will fill up the rest of the vacancies. The rest of the former Macy's / Jordan Marsh will be leased to Staples. The rest of the former mall area will be leased to Sports Authority, Bed Bath and Beyond and an AC Moore Crafts store. The Kmart store will remain in place.

http://deadmalls.com/malls/assembly_square_mall.html

[Ron Newman]

When Macy's closed the former Jordan Marsh store, that was this mall's death knell. All of the smaller stores closed soon after, leaving only Kmart open. It could not compete with the better-located, larger, and newer CambridgeSide Galleria which opened in the early 1990s.

[crash575]

Seems like this project will start in the fall.Somerville's newest T stop gets a second entrance (http://www.wickedlocal.com/somerville/news/x370522925/Somervilles-newest-T-stop-gets-a-second-entrance)
Somerville Journal
By Meghann Ackerman
Jan 12, 2010

The Orange Line stop at Assembly Square will have two headhouses, according to the MBTA's latest design plans for the project.

Thanks to an extra $10 million in state Highway Flex Funding, a second entrance, which residents and city officials have been lobbying for since last June's first design meeting, could be added. The rest of the project is being funded with $25 million from the MBTA and $15 million from Federal Realty Investment Trust, the group developing Assembly Square, and IKEA.

The second entrance, known as the south headhouse, will be near IKEA on IKEA Way. The north headhouse is on Foley Street with a bridge over G Street that leads riders to the train platform.

Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership co-founder Wig Zamore called the addition of a second entrance a ?terrific response? to resident concerns.

?The focus on on accessibility really helped all of us,? he said.

There were still concerns about accessibility, however. Several people brought up that at eight feet, the sidewalk around the station might be too narrow for the amount of traffic it will see.

Residents will get another chance to weigh in on design plans shortly before construction begins, which is slated to start in the fall of 2010. The station is expected to be open by the end of 2013.

[armpitsOFmight]

^^W00t!!! This is fantastic!!

Soon I'll have another easy commute to get to a mall and buy a pair of pants for work. Why is it going to take 2+ years to make one of these stations? The community college and Sullivan Square ones look like they were glued together in a week. Does anybody else think those stations under a major highway are awkward? Still beats driving though.....since I can get drunk and not have to worry about a DUI!!

[vanshnookenraggen]

^^W00t!!! This is fantastic!!

Soon I'll have another easy commute to get to a mall and buy a pair of pants for work. Why is it going to take 2+ years to make one of these stations? The community college and Sullivan Square ones look like they were glued together in a week. Does anybody else think those stations under a major highway are awkward? Still beats driving though.....since I can get drunk and not have to worry about a DUI!!

You're not funny when you try too hard.

[armpitsOFmight]

I'm not trying to be funny. I actually prefer to get my dockers from a sears or JC Penny rather than an expensive store on Newbury St.

[jass]

I have a feeling that if this forum got together on a weekend, we could build the new stop for about one one hundredth of that butdget using only materials from ikea

[ablarc]

But it won't pass code.

[bbfen]

But it won't pass code.

It'd be pretty good looking, though.

[found5dollar]

http://mbta.com/uploadedfiles/About_the_T/T_Projects/T_Projects_List/Assembly%20Square%20Station%20Presentation%2001121 0.pdf

A ton of renderings and such behind that link. The station looks like a cross between the new Charles/MGH and the walkways connecting the airport to its parking garages... i don't know what is up with the gigantic painting on its side.

I do like the "T" archway on page 34 tho!

[maximum927]

I just think there should be some covered access to Ikea straight from the station. If they want people to take the T to get there, then there ought to be a way to get there from the station where you don't have to go outside. Also, if getting people to not drive there is the idea, a bunch of zipcar spots would be obligatory. Also, these zipcars should be big ones, which can fit flatpacks.


The station looks really nice though, and i think the Charles comparison is dead on. This design language seems to be really common with the T, and if they can keep all the glass clean, it works nicely.

[Boston02124]

that arch is cool!the rest ????

[ablarc]

It'd be pretty good looking, though.
The two are diametrically inimical most of the time.

[jass]

But it won't pass code.

And yet it would have a longer lifespan

[ablarc]

Like a building in Haiti.

[KentXie]

Now whether a transit oriented development actually occurs....otherwise we're getting another Bowdoin station, but worse.

[crash575]

Other than the proposed TOD and the stores who will be using this station? I'd love to see ridership figures. It seems like the highway cuts this area and station off from the existing neighborhood.

[Arborway]

But it won't pass code.

Neither will Arlington, Copley or Kenmore in ten years. You can buy a futon with better build quality than any of those renovated stations.

Though assembling said futon may take longer than the renovations.

[ablarc]

But it won't pass code.

Neither will Arlington, Copley or Kenmore in ten years.
... as the Code marches relentlessly toward future perfection.

[JohnAKeith]

From today's Banker & Tradesman.

The interesting part of the article is the quote at the end from the developer. "Projects always need subsidies." (?!!)

Gonzalez: $200M Up For Grabs For Infrastructure Funding (http://www.bankerandtradesman.com/news136507.html)
By Paul McMorrow
Banker & Tradesman

Jay Gonzalez, the state's secretary of administration and finance, has $200 million in infrastructure funding he's trying to get out the door, and he's looking for development projects to give it to, he said Wednesday morning.

"We are anxious to get good applications we can approve, to get projects going," Gonzalez said, speaking at a NAIOP Massachusetts roundtable.

His office has made just one allocation, to Assembly Square in Somerville, from an original $250 million bonding authorization under the state's I-Cubed development infrastructure program.

Under I-Cubed, the state floats infrastructure bonds to finance infrastructure connected to private development projects, and uses future tax revenues from those projects to repay the bonds.

"Our goal is to use it as quickly as possible," Gonzalez said. "The economy has not helped. It really is designed to incentivize real, sustainable job creation. Hopefully, this [bond] program will help speed projects up, and make them more financeable."

Three projects applied for the initial round of I-Cubed financing: Federal Realty Investment Trust's $1.2 billion Assembly Square redevelopment, the Plymouth Rock Studios film project, and the $1.5 billion Westwood Station project. Gonzalez said Plymouth Rock Studios had its application rejected because, after accounting for film industry tax breaks, the development would not throw off enough tax revenue to finance its infrastructure costs.

Westwood station's fate remains up in the air. In June, the Patrick administration announced the project, expected to produce 3 million square feet of stores, offices and homes, would receive federal stimulus funds. But the administration later concluded construction at the site would not make use-it-or-lose-it cutoff dates. Gonzalez told Banker & Tradesman Westwood's developer, Cabot Cabot & Forbes, needs to figure out how it will finance its remaining infrastructure commitments before the state will float its I-Cubed bond. Westwood's total infrastructure spending is estimated at $118 million, including $73 million in public infrastructure projects.

"Assembly Square would not happen, but for the public financing," said Don Briggs, head of development for Federal Realty. Assembly Square is getting approximately $90 million in public infrastructure money, between I-Cubed, stimulus funds, and a federal transportation earmark for a new Orange Line station.

"Without this money, we would not be going forward today," Briggs said. "In the last 50 years, development has never paid for itself. The question is, what type of development is the public subsidizing? The Federal Highway Act is a significant subsidy to suburban sprawl. Only in the last decade has there been a shift in priorities. If we're going to reinvigorate urban areas, it will require some form of public subsidy. That will take a great deal of creativity."

[Shepard]

Would decking the Mass Pike count as an infrastructure improvement?

[ablarc]

The interesting part of the article is the quote at the end from the developer. "Projects always need subsidies." (?!!)
Public/Private Partnership?

Socialism?

Keynesian Economics?

Unavoidable reality?

[itchy]

Would decking the Mass Pike count as an infrastructure improvement?

It is the best possible infrastructure improvement the city (even state?) could embark upon.

And maybe the head of Federal Realty would consider this a "subsidy," but I would draw a line between this as an infrastructure improvement and building the actual space you're going to rent out or sell...

[BostonUrbEx]

Is this project dead or what? It seems it. The only work I have seen since they leveled off the dirt of almost the entire Assembly Square lot almost 1 year ago is the some work at the entrance on the Fellsway where they're setting some new granite curbing. The entire lot has stood barren and empty, occasionally filling with really big puddles when it rains for a while. There isn't so much as survey marks around the Orange Line.

[GW2500]

According to this website, construction will begin next year. It seems like a solid source for updates.

http://www.somervillestep.org/orange_line/

[found5dollar]

This Project went out to bid about 2 weeks ago...

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/real_estate/2011/05/mbta-opens-bidding-for-assembly-square.html

[GW2500]

^^ Um, same story.

MBTA accepts $29m bid to build Assembly Square station
Print | Comments (0) Posted by Matt Byrne October 6, 2011

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/somerville/2011/10/mbta_accepts_29m_bid_to_build.html


By Matt Byrne, Town Correspondent

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority awarded a $29.2 million construction contract to begin work on a new Orange Line station at Assembly Square, the City of Somerville announced yesterday.

S&R Construction of Lowell is expected to complete the station, located between the Sullivan Square and Wellington stops, by 2014.

The station's funding and approval is a boon to the accompanying development of 2,100 housing units, 600,000 square feet of retail space, and a park, hotel, and entertainment complex.

“The transformation of Assembly Square is well under way,” said Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone in a statement, calling the station a critical piece of infrastructure to unlock the under-utilized site.

"There is no longer any question over whether Assembly Square will be redeveloped. The work is taking place right now. What had been a relic of our industrial past is going to become a shimmering new gateway to our city," Curtatone said.

Read the Globe's coverage of the MBTA contracts for Assembly Square and Orient Heights.

[Digital_Islandboy]

When Macy's closed the former Jordan Marsh store, that was this mall's death knell. All of the smaller stores closed soon after, leaving only Kmart open. It could not compete with the better-located, larger, and newer CambridgeSide Galleria which opened in the early 1990s.

They did pick up Home Depot. (However that killed Somerville Lumber on the other side of I-93. I haven't been out that way in ages either. I also remember a Circuit City and Computer Learning Centre and Lowes movie theatre out in that area... Also an indoor sporting area "Good Times Sport Emporium."

I never head that way because I have to goto Downtown Boston first to get out there, plus the Orange Line was shutdown forever with North Station reconstruction and then signal trouble from Haymarket to Wellington and they were busing so I gave up on heading out there. Maybe if there was a train-line going from Alewife through say- Arlington, West Medford, and around toward Everett/Chelsea to connect with the Blue Line (a sort of North of Boston/downtown Boston bypass) maybe I would head out that way. I had to goto Jury duty out near Assembly Square and I wont even put on here what kinda language I had to put on that card for sending me out there. I told them next time send me to Brighton court across the river from Cambridge... The buses get stuck in that around Assembly Square and its a mess. A complete and total waste of time.

Ofcourse this project runs the risk of killing Meadow Glenn Mall around the corner now too.

[Digital_Islandboy]

^^ Um, same story.

MBTA accepts $29m bid to build Assembly Square station
Print | Comments (0) Posted by Matt Byrne October 6, 2011

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/somerville/2011/10/mbta_accepts_29m_bid_to_build.html


By Matt Byrne, Town Correspondent

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority awarded a $29.2 million construction contract to begin work on a new Orange Line station at Assembly Square, the City of Somerville announced yesterday.

S&R Construction of Lowell is expected to complete the station, located between the Sullivan Square and Wellington stops, by 2014.

The station's funding and approval is a boon to the accompanying development of 2,100 housing units, 600,000 square feet of retail space, and a park, hotel, and entertainment complex.

“The transformation of Assembly Square is well under way,” said Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone in a statement, calling the station a critical piece of infrastructure to unlock the under-utilized site.

"There is no longer any question over whether Assembly Square will be redeveloped. The work is taking place right now. What had been a relic of our industrial past is going to become a shimmering new gateway to our city," Curtatone said.

Read the Globe's coverage of the MBTA contracts for Assembly Square and Orient Heights.

Around the south of Boston the train lines are close together plus connections are good between those lines. Once you head North of Harvard Square it becomes more difficult to get around to the other northern communities of Boston. Radial service is poor, meaning it is quicker to travel the 20-30 mins into Downtown Boston and 20-30 mins back-out.. So until the MBTA adds better service around this side I don't see that mall to benefit from much Cambridge/Belmont/Arlington/Lexington and points west traffic. The MBTA has neglected service between Northwest and Northeast parts of the metropolitan area. That mall maybe more inline for Malden and some Medford traffic but even Medford has a lot of retail space around there Along Fellsway, Meadow Glenn, even that now commingling of retail space to the west of Wellington Station (next to the parking garage.)

[F-Line to Dudley]

Good addition despite the proximity to Sullivan Sq. because access from Sullivan to Assembly and Wellington to Assembly is very poor, and it'll help knit the Wellington development (which is too isolated by Wellington Circle) to Assembly in semi-contiguous fashion. Fellsway from Wellington to Assembly is a terrifying walk for pedestrians given proximity of the sidewalk to the roadway. It's not dangerous, but when I lived in East Somerville I only ventured across the river a couple times because there's so much high-speed traffic and trucks zooming by and kicking up gravel. Sullivan requires going under the dank Broadway-Mystic Ave. I-93 underpass and crossing the end of an off-ramp on narrow sidewalk, plus 3 lanes of high-speed Mystic Ave. traffic at the crosswalk. Uninviting to say the least, and I hated walking home with any halfway-heavy bags from Home Depot while crossing there.

Meadow Glen Mall really isn't affected. Wellington Circle totally shears it off from the Orange Line, and that won't change unless there's a footbridge built across 28 from the Mystic River bike path to President's Landing. The placement right by 93 and the Route 16 collector/distributor ramps makes it much more a low-rent suburban mall than the urban-ish mixed use development at Wellington and Assembly, and the bus line going there tilts heavily from the Medford Sq. direction. I'm definitely in favor of a 28 overpass because it would greatly increase utilization of the Mystic Reservation, but Meadow Glen very much serves its own retail purpose separate from Wellington + Assembly.

[Ron Newman]

They did pick up Home Depot.

but that's not in the old Assembly Square Mall, it's a separate development way down near I-93.

I also remember a Circuit City and Computer Learning Centre and Lowes movie theatre out in that area... Also an indoor sporting area "Good Times Sport Emporium."

All gone now. Circuit City closed when the entire chain folded in 2009. (Wal-Mart wants to open a supermarket there.) The Loews theatre closed on Martin Luther King Day in 2007 and still sits vacant today. Good Time Emporium closed in 2008 and was demolished to make way for the future IKEA. I haven't heard of the computer store and don't know anything about it, but it's not there anymore either.

[Digital_Islandboy]

Good addition despite the proximity to Sullivan Sq. because access from Sullivan to Assembly and Wellington to Assembly is very poor, and it'll help knit the Wellington development (which is too isolated by Wellington Circle) to Assembly in semi-contiguous fashion.


I suspect it'll knit them together to a point. But there's a huge river dividing them.

Google Maps:
https://maps.google.com/?ll=42.395351,-71.074505&spn=0.020506,0.045447&t=h&z=15&vpsrc=6

Assembly is on the south bank and Wellington is on the North.

Fellsway from Wellington to Assembly is a terrifying walk for pedestrians given proximity of the sidewalk to the roadway. It's not dangerous, but when I lived in East Somerville I only ventured across the river a couple times because there's so much high-speed traffic and trucks zooming by and kicking up gravel.

Agreed. That wide open cluster of traffic triangles adjacent to Wellington is VERY uninviting. I shared the same experience walking over the bridge but I did so during freezing rain/sleet. So again same type of problem with trucks spraying up yucky road grit and the like.
As far as the Wellington Triangle I too get those feelings like am I ever going to make it across this tangle of roads without getting knocked over by turning traffic, or someone who may run a red. Or can I make it across without getting stuck in the middle somewhere?.. I feel that is why many persons (myself included) whenever possible take the bus just to get on the other side of the Fellsway to the mall. I have a BJ's wholesale club membership that my mum told me to use, and I still haven't used it because I refuse to travel out that way. ,-)


Sullivan requires going under the dank Broadway-Mystic Ave. I-93 underpass and crossing the end of an off-ramp on narrow sidewalk, plus 3 lanes of high-speed Mystic Ave. traffic at the crosswalk. Uninviting to say the least, and I hated walking home with any halfway-heavy bags from Home Depot while crossing there.


That whole remnant of upper/lower decks on I-93 I sooo wish had been placed underground after the Zakim bridge. It just ruins the whole aura of that area. It feels like perpetual night at Sullivan Station even in broad daylight.


Meadow Glen Mall really isn't affected. Wellington Circle totally shears it off from the Orange Line, and that won't change unless there's a footbridge built across 28 from the Mystic River bike path to President's Landing. The placement right by 93 and the Route 16 collector/distributor ramps makes it much more a low-rent suburban mall than the urban-ish mixed use development at Wellington and Assembly, and the bus line going there tilts heavily from the Medford Sq. direction.

I remember there being a bus to Assembly Sq. but I could never find it leaving at irrational times. A lot of the T's bus schedules are these odd times that never align with the trains, commuter rail, amtrak, or else when people might plan to leave someone to be destined for somewhere else by a certain time.


I'm definitely in favor of a 28 overpass because it would greatly increase utilization of the Mystic Reservation, but Meadow Glen very much serves its own retail purpose separate from Wellington + Assembly.

Just to clarify Pedestrian overpass correct? :-) I would also venture to recommend that the overpass connects with the T parking garage. Since persons wanting to reach the station from the reservation could cut through the parking garage.

[BostonUrbEx]

Anyone else think that tacking a pedestrian walkway onto the railroad bridge would be awesome? That way you could walk across the river on either side and it makes a circuit out of the waterfront park trails.

[F-Line to Dudley]

Just to clarify Pedestrian overpass correct? :-) I would also venture to recommend that the overpass connects with the T parking garage. Since persons wanting to reach the station from the reservation could cut through the parking garage.

Yes. Just across 28 from President's Landing to reach the Mystic Reservation paths from Wellington. Beautiful area that already has an underpass under 16 where it crosses the river at Meadow Glen Mall. That's what would knit Meadow Glen into a walkable/bikeable option from Wellington. The existing paths there go all the way to Riverside Ave. where it passes under 93, so it's a very long 1.5 mile network that's sorely underutilized because it's sheared off from Wellington.

Second-phase option from there would be to trail over the Medford Branch RR, which Pan Am only uses once a year to serve a cold storage warehouse off Fellsway and is almost certainly going to abandon in the next 2-4 years. ROW has absolutely no other transit use because it's been cut back to only 2 blocks past Fellsway (< 1/2 mile total) and is totally, utterly obliterated past there. Build a ped overpass from River's Edge Dr. over the lone surface track at the Orange Line tunnel (the T is going to refurbish that as a 1.5 mile passing track Wellington-Malden to mitigate the huge single-track commuter rail bottleneck from Malden to North Station). Trail the branch to Riverside Ave. on the old Amheuser-Busch siding. That gives the dense north-of-Wellington neighborhood waterfront access and T access at Wellington that it never had before, and gives you your walking route from the T to BJ's. River's Edge Dr. paths/sidewalks then get you to Medford St. and the Bike to the Sea trail to Lynn over the abandoned Saugus Branch on the other side of that bridge. Now we're adding more massive scale to these connections.

So figure all it takes to unite the whole area is:
-- Ped overpass at 28/President's Landing to the existing Reservation paths (Meadow Glen/Medford Sq. to Wellington access).
-- Trail the Medford Branch + ped overpass to River's Edge Dr. (Fellsway residential to Wellington/Malden access).
-- Reduce Fellsway from 6 to 4 lanes over the Mystic bridge and move the sidewalk jersey barriers out so that's not such a terrifying walk/bike across (Wellington to Assembly access). Really, is there any reason whatsoever that stretch has to be 6 f'ing continuous lanes?
-- Widen the 16 Mystic drawbridge when it's due for replacement in a few years to have wider ped-friendly sidewalks (Wellington to Gateway Ctr. access and Wellington to other-side Mystic Paths + Bike to the Sea/Everett access). Both that draw and the 16 Orange Line overpass are accelerated bridge repair fund candidates because they're in such awful shape and won't last 10 more years unrebuilt without collapsing in a heap.
-- Ped overpass from Assembly to dense but isolated Shore Dr./Hills Ave. neighborhood on Somerville side. Already has path access to Meadow Glen Mall via the bridge and underpasses at 16/93, but 28 and 93 are great walls separating it from the T and the rest of Somerville.


None of this would be hard at all to do. It's construction of 2 long ped overpasses over 28 on either side of the river, and one really short one over a single commuter rail track. Then landscaping the rail trails and reducing the extreme overkill lane count on 28 over the river. Bang...there's your Mystic Esplanade with all the new development and transit access tied together and usable without getting pancaked by a truck going 50.

[whighlander]

F-Line -- you are closing in on a -- Big unmet challenge and opportunity

The River's Edge (nee Telecm City) is passed by both the Red Line and the Commuter Rail with nary a consideration of a stop. Since the development will now include a substantial housing component -- Over the next 20 years this development can become bigger than Assembly Sq.

There needs to be some way to accommodate a potential residential / commercial community of several thousand to have access to some T service -- essentially half way between Malden and Wellingon -- perhaps gerbil tube with moving walkways?

[F-Line to Dudley]

F-Line -- you are closing in on a -- Big unmet challenge and opportunity

The River's Edge (nee Telecm City) is passed by both the Red Line and the Commuter Rail with nary a consideration of a stop. Since the development will now include a substantial housing component -- Over the next 20 years this development can become bigger than Assembly Sq.

There needs to be some way to accommodate a potential residential / commercial community of several thousand to have access to some T service -- essentially half way between Malden and Wellingon -- perhaps gerbil tube with moving walkways?

That development's only about 1500 ft. from Wellington. They're most likely going to widen the sidewalks and roadway on River's Edge direct into the station when the decrepit 16 overpass gets replaced so it's not squeezed underneath. Assembly is a necessary intermediate stop because there are no not-dangerous connections from Sullivan and the river separates it from Wellington. While the distance is >1.5 miles between Wellington and Malden the spacing starts getting a little ridiculous because it would have to be predicated on road access from both sides of the tracks. That means either on top of the Orange Line tunnel and paving an access driveway to Middlesex Ave. over the Medford Branch, or up by the corner of Medford St. One site's too close to Wellington, one site's too close to Malden. Perfect spacing isn't going to be possible here and that's the main reason it won't work.

They could beef up the bus access and maybe long-loop some of the Wellington routes around the development before they hit the station. Trailing the Medford Branch also gives excellent access to the 108/134 on Middlesex Ave. and the 100 on Fellsway. I don't think there's anything here that can't be accomplished with light touches like improved ped and bus access north of the station where all this development's happening.

[metasyntactic]

Didn't see these posted here yet. Looks like there are new renderings for this project: http://www.somervillestep.org/2011/11/new_images_of_a.html

[chowder]

who's ready for a sudden influx of large ikea boxes on the subway

[BostonUrbEx]

The Ikea seems to be the only thing NOT progressing forward right now.

Well, that, and the station itself. They've been putting in some MASSIVE drainage pipes, though, soooo friggin' cool! They dug up some deep trenches on each side of the tracks and I think they mined out the tunnel underneath and then lowered in section by section and put them in place below the tracks while trains still ran above. So cool!

[F-Line to Dudley]

Didn't see these posted here yet. Looks like there are new renderings for this project: http://www.somervillestep.org/2011/11/new_images_of_a.html

Better images: http://www.somervillestep.org/files/Assembly_Square_station_011210.pdf

That overpass with the corrugated roof looks like one of the toolsheds they sell at Home Depot. I dunno...looks kind of appropriate for the square bunkers on that portion of the Orange Line. Just glassier...because, you know, EVERY station structure the T builds today has to be 75% glass that'll look like crap when it's never been cleaned for 20 years.

That said, looks appropriately functional and not some overbuilt monument. I kind of wish they'd do more builds like this that don't overreach for the sky. Little more modest than even the Yawkey commuter rail headhouse.


Though not depicted in the renderings, looks like the rightmost express track is staying completely untouched (can see it on the overhead view coming off the bridge, un-highlighted). I doubt that would've ever been blocked...would've required more money than worth the trouble reconfiguring the signal system. Plus they need it to test the next car order. Inbound track is the only one that moves at all, getting shifted over a few feet to sandwich in the platform. They've already announced bustitutions for the construction, but do they really even need it with 2 tracks completely untouched? Why not shift service rightward by 1 track each weekend and use the express platforms at the 3 current stops?

Island configuration is the same as CC, Sullivan, and Wellington. And positioning of the station is before the bridge approach where there's 50 extra feet of ballasted ROW on the other side currently used as a park maintenance yard. If they ever need to drop in the extra island for using the express track in revenue service a la the other 3 stations, they're fully provisioned. Looks like the interior walkway has this vestigial lookout jut on the Mystic River side that presumably would be where the overpass to the next platform would get grafted on. Also doable if they ever need a commuter rail platform at the station, because they can move back the 2-to-1 track merge about 100 feet and have all the platform space they'd ever need.

Like it. Operationally looks good, and you get 100% unobstructing long-distance view to both Wellington and Sullivan to see the next train coming. Even better than the pretty decent northbound look-see Sullivan offers.

[Shepard]

I'm glad the station is moving forward, but how can anyone get excited for a development that will be essentially nothing but a new-Urbanist big box strip mall?

[found5dollar]

the latestest renderings are at the bottom of this pdf. http://www.mbta.com/uploadedfiles/About_the_T/T_Projects/T_Projects_List/Assembly%20Square%20Update.pdf

[vanshnookenraggen]

Has construction started?

[Ron Newman]

no, this is a meeting to review final designs.

[whighlander]

no, this is a meeting to review final designs.

Ron -- according to the T's site -- construction has started -- digging around where the station will be built to prepare for moving utilities, and moving the track, etc.

[BostonUrbEx]

Just glassier...because, you know, EVERY station structure the T builds today has to be 75% glass that'll look like crap when it's never been cleaned for 20 years.


I agree, but it will be much less depressing than the brutalist concrete structures they built in the 70s. Nothing like seeing Oak Grove on a dark, cold, wet winter Monday morning. It would take more than a scrub or popping out a window and replacing it to make that place look good.

[whighlander]

I agree, but it will be much less depressing than the brutalist concrete structures they built in the 70s. Nothing like seeing Oak Grove on a dark, cold, wet winter Monday morning. It would take more than a scrub or popping out a window and replacing it to make that place look good.

No to get the full effect it is approaching Alewife after dark all that monumental structuree all lit-up and shinny in the pouring rain

What my brother has referred to Alewife as Early-Galactic Empire style

and then when you get down on the floor on one of those bank of one-way escalators and buy your bagel and coffee from D&D and approach the fare gates -- water is dripping on you from the leaking window frames high overhead -- defiitely my favorite

[BostonUrbEx]

By the way- is it me, or is more parking garage space slipping in by the day here? It's turning into a mini FiDi it seems. Sidewalks will be folded up by 7.

[whighlander]

By the way- is it me, or is more parking garage space slipping in by the day here? It's turning into a mini FiDi it seems. Sidewalks will be folded up by 7.

Urb -- because of Bertucci at Alewife and Summer Shack accros Cambridge Park Dr -- the sidewalks stay un-rolled to 8 PM on weekdays and sometimes 9:15 PM on Saturday night -- pretty good for the fringe of urban-life

The DD on the fare-gate level of the Station has a bit of tile in front of it which someimes even has not yet rolled-up by 10:00 PM