Assembly Square in the News

• Apartments in Assembly Row will range from $1,900 for a studio to $3,500 for a three-bedroom apartment
• Office space marketed toward tech companies will cost less per square foot than office space in Kendall Square, and one real estate expert told the Globe, "I think they're going to do well" with selling that space
• More than 60 percent of the retail and restaurant space in Assembly Row's Phase I is leased or under commitment

The article also discusses a proposal by Federal Realty Investment Trust, the developers of Assembly Row, to purchase the 12-acre parcel of land owned by IKEA, which isn't coming to Somerville. FRIT, as the Assembly Row development company is known, wants to build a 100,000 square-foot supermarket at the site, but it's running into opposition.

The Globe says that some, including Somerville Board of Aldermen President William White, argue the zoning is written to prevent big-box retailers in Assembly Square. Instead of a huge supermarket, a smaller one that's part of a mixed-use development would bring in more tax dollars and better serve the city, White argues in the Globe article.

However, a spokesperson for FRIT, which is seeking a zoning change for its supermarket proposal, said, "The zoning change remains critical [to Federal's] decision to acquire this site," according to the Globe.

Another look at Assembly Square comes from DigBoston. It's the second installment of a multi-part series about "the intersection of politics, development, and power in the city of Somerville."

The article looks at the history of Assembly Square, including past corruption tied to the site, and it's written in DigBoston's somewhat cynical and snarky tone of voice.

You can read it here.