From Dave Brigham:
A preface to this final installment in my five-part series: I can't imagine anybody cares, but I want to say that I had grand intentions at the outset of this series to get it done relatively quickly, and to present a fairly clear picture of the past, present and future of Union Square in Somerville, Mass. I feel like I've done a pretty good job with this first four posts to show most of the cool pieces of the neighborhood's past and present, and hinted at the future.
This last post was designed to analyze how the square will balance the needs and priorities of long-time residents and businesses, newer folks and shops, the state's transportation requirements and the desires of visitors to the area. I have lost my steam, my mojo and my train of thought on this series, and other people (the Boston Globe, in particular) have done, of course, a much better job covering this than I could ever hope to do. In addition, my explorations of Union Square took place more than 18 months ago, and some things have surely changed in the interim. Due to coronavirus restrictions, I have only made it back to the neighborhood once in recent months, and that was just to take a quick picture for the prior installment.
As much as I've researched Union Square and the changes that have already taken place and those that are coming, I realize that a few walks through the neighborhood and some poking around online can't match the breadth of knowledge earned by folks who live and work in Union Square. I'm just sharing what I saw and what I think. In this post I will do my best to speculate about where the square will be in five years, but don't hold me to it.
The biggest change coming to Somerville's Union Square will center on a new transit station as part of the MBTA's Green Line Extension program. The transit authority hopes to have the entire new series of stations open by the end of 2021.
Above is a shot I took in early 2019 of the site at the intersection of Prospect Street and Somerville Avenue (in foreground), where the new Green Line station will be housed, alongside multiple new buildings, including at least one apartment tower along with retail and lab/office space. The station will have one island serving the two tracks. Allen Street provides the eastern border of this new development.
Work to clean up the site began in September 2014, per this City of Somerville document. Contractors removed contaminated soil and demolished existing buildings. "From 1951 through 1989, the Kiley Barrel Company cleaned, refurbished and distributed drums containing both chemical and bakery products, and the Somerville Redevelopment Authority purchased the property in 2002," per the document.
All bets are pushed off in these COVID-19 days, but at some point the site in the photo above will be a bustling area filled with commuters, high-tech workers, well-to-do singles and families mixing in with long-time Union Square denizens, working-class folks and those taking advantage of fun new things to do in a neighborhood already known as an exciting nightlife destination. As an example of the existing dichotomy that will expand, I present the sign below.
As I wrote about in the first installment (links to previous posts are at the end of this one), Union Square has more than its share of auto body shops. Barnes & Walsh is located at the corner of Somerville Avenue and Merriam Street, and has been in business since 1929. The shop represents old Union Square. The other tenant on this sign, Bantam Cider Company, is located two doors down Merriam Street, and was founded elsewhere in the city in 2012. This brewery/taproom -- which fills space once occupied by White Rose Baking Company -- represents new Union Square.
More "new" businesses will join Bantam and other millennial-focused operations such as Urban Axes and Backbar, and they stand to benefit from easier public transit access. Of course, so much of that depends on a vaccine for the coronavirus.
Another site that shows the dichotomy between old and new Union Square is along Washington Street, just east of the Somerville Police Station.
On the right is Lucky Convenience, located in a building that dates to 1895. Across the street stands 197 Union Square, which features 30 one- and two-bedroom condos, a rooftop lounge and ground-floor retail/restaurants. This development was completed in 2016.
Cities are made of scenes like this, the mixing of old and new, immigrant and native-born, basic needs with extravagance, downtrodden with well-off. This is nothing new, especially in Somerville, which has seen similar meshing of old and new in Davis Square, and will likely see it to lesser degrees in smaller areas along the Green Line Extension, such as Magoun and Ball squares.
Let's look at some sites that I've pegged as possible new development properties.
J.J. Sullivan Plumbing & Heating has been in business since 1956. As far as I know, the company is solid. But the company's property seems, how to put this? Underused. Blighted. Not ready for prime time.
(Driveway and dilapidated garage at J.J. Sullivan.)
The best resource I found during my research into this series is the Union Square Neighborhood Plan. Adopted on May 5, 2016, by the Somerville Planning Board as an amendment to the city's master plan, the USNP lays out what the square will look like when the transit station is complete, open space is added, new developments are built and streetscapes are modified. The plan also makes recommendations for properties that may not currently be available for redevelopment. Such a site is 344-46 Somerville Avenue, home to J.J. Sullivan.
"This site has frontage onto two streets, Somerville Avenue to the north and Lake Street to the south, so the parcel should be split to create two separate lots with individual frontage on each street," the report states. "If redeveloped, the northern lot should be a 5-story general (mixed-use) building with residential over retail while the southern lot is more appropriate for an apartment building. The southern lot is suitable for family housing units because of its quiet residential street and close proximity to Argenziano School....This site is located within 1/2 mile of the future Union Square Station and should not have any residential minimum parking requirement because of its close proximity to transit."
Must be strange for property owners to read what city planners think should happen to their buildings and lots were they to sell. And let's face it, plenty will decide to cash in.
Perhaps a quarter mile from the site of the new transit station and other new buildings stands 201 Somerville Avenue, below.
Built in 1890 and home to commercial and residential space, this building has seen better days, both from a design standpoint, and a business outlook. Most recently it was home to the Somerville Bread Company, which opened in 2017 but was closed by the time I shot this photo in early 2019. I love the bread window, which allowed customers to conduct business from the sidewalk. There may be a travel agency named ItaliaDeals still located here, I'm not sure.
So what might become of this property? The USNP mentioned above doesn't cover this site, so I'm winging it here. Given that the property includes a walk-in freezer and a walk-in cooler, and has been used as a restaurant/bakery for quite some time (I'm guessing), I would assume somebody will buy it, gut the hell out of it and turn it into yet another cool restaurant to go along with other Union Square spots such as The Independent and Bronwyn.
OK, the final two locations are former auto-related businesses.
At 231 Washington Street, across from Ricky's Flower Market and adjacent to the former post office (now home to - new Union Square alert! - RightHand Robotics), is the former Union Gulf gas and service station.
"Thank you for 70 great years!" a sign on the building says. Right across Columbus Avenue is the former Monro Muffler Brake & Service, located directly across from Somerville Police Headquarters.
I haven't found anything in the USNP or elsewhere indicating what the plans might be for these sites. But each address is included in a late 2017 City of Somerville Planning Board document, along with several other addresses, as falling under the Union Square Coordinated Development Special Permit filed by Union Square Station Associates. The master plan for the square calls for at least 1.2 million square feet of lab and innovation space, as well as 1,000 new residences and 140,000 square feet of retail, restaurants and services. So take your pick on these two properties. I'm guessing a combination of retail/restaurant and gym space.
For the rest of the series, see:
May 29, 2020, "Union Square, Somerville, Part IV: Holy."
December 6, 2019, "Union Square, Somerville, Part III: Retail and Hangouts."
November 7, 2019, "Union Square, Somerville, Part II: Factories and Housing."
And August 25, 2019, "Union Square, Somerville, Part I: New Purposes & Grease Monkeys."
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