Assembly Row Celebrates Milestone Thursday

U.S. Senator William Cowan was scheduled to be in Somerville Thursday to help Federal Realty Investment Trust, the developers of Assembly Row, break ground on the final building in phase I of their Assembly Square project.

Phase I of the development will consist of 450 residential units, 100,000 square feet of office space, retail space, an AMC movie theatre and restaurants including Burger Dive, Starbucks, Legal C and Papagayo Kitchen & Tequila Bar, according to Jennifer Manley, who handles public relations for Assembly Row

Manley said developers will begin advertising the residential units in Assembly Row's phase I this summer, and a redesigned riverfront park along the Mystic River is also expected to open this summer.

A press release from the developers said shops, restaurants and entertainment venues in phase I will celebrate a grand opening in spring of 2014. A new Orange Line MBTA station is expected to open in summer of 2014.

The retail shops in phase I will be high-end outlets. Federal Realty Investment Trust already announced that Brooks Brothers would be one of those outlets, said Manley. She said Don Briggs, president of the company's Boston unit, may have more information Thursday about other outlets coming to the development.

One commercial real estate website said Federal Realty has also inked a deal with Chico's and signed letters of intent with Saks off Fifth, American Eagle and Puma.

Manley said Briggs may also discuss the current status of the development's upcoming phases.

When complete, the development is expected to have about 800,000 square feet of retail space, 1.75 million square feet of office space and over 2,000 apartments, according to the Boston Globe.

Thursday's groundbreaking ceremony takes place at 10 a.m. In addition to Cowan and Briggs, Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone and Jeffrey Simon, assistant secretary for real estate at MassDOT, are expected to make remarks.