City To Terminate Brickbottom Transfer Station Lease

Somerville will terminate lease at a transfer station in the Brickbottom area starting on Oct. 1, 2012, according to a press announcement.

The transfer station, at 10 Poplar St., is located off the McGrath Highway, and the move to terminate the company's lease is part of an overall effort to redevelop the area.

"The reality is no one is going to want to locate a new corporate headquarters or new housing or a new restaurant right next to a trash handling facility," said Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone in a statement.

Curtatone sent a letter to Waste Management, which operates the transfer station, alerting the company that the city will terminate its lease next year, the announcement says.

The company operates the transfer station under a lease signed in 2005, and a 2009 amendment to the lease agreement gave the city the right to end the lease with one-year notice, according to the announcement.

At the time of this posting, a spokesperson for Waste Management had not returned a phone call.

During the 20th century, the location was used as a trash incinerator, and it often spewed ash and pollution into the surrounding neighborhoods, the announcement says.

"At times it was like it was snowing," said Alderman At-Large William White, who grew up in the area, in a statement. "The pollution chased away entire neighborhoods."

More recently, people driving down McGrath Highway with their windows open during summer could notice a foul odor when passing the transfer station.

Ward 2 Alderman Maryann Heuston, in the statement, said, "When you put this together with the Green Line extension and the de-elevation of McGrath Highway, suddenly you can form a mental picture of how the Brickbottom can be transformed."

"The entire eastern section of the city represents an opportunity zone for Somerville," said Ward 1 Alderman Bill Roche in the statement.