Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Reject IKEA Site Zoning Change in Assembly Square

Fred Berman asks the Somerville Board of Aldermen to fight for more lucrative development at an Assembly Square parcel.

Fred Berman, a former Board of Aldermen candidate who's been involved in Assembly Square development issues, sent the following letter to the Somerville Board of Aldermen. The letter asks the aldermen to reject a zoning amendment for the former IKEA site in Assembly Square. Berman argues the amendment could lead to a big-box supermarket that isn't in the best interest of the city. He provided the letter to Somerville Patch. Here it is: Dear Members of the Board of Aldermen, On Tuesday, April 2, the Land Use Committee will be voting on a zoning proposal to allow a ground floor supermarket to exceed the 50,000 square foot cap that was put in place to preclude more big box development at Assembly Square. The proposed zoning amendment would …

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Chris Orchard

3:44 pm on Friday, March 29, 2013

Thanks, Courtney!   more ›

Mayor: Announcement About IKEA Site Coming Soon

"I expect an extension of the neighborhood" currently under construction in Assembly Square, the mayor said.

IKEA, which owns a large parcel of land in Assembly Square, will "make an announcement very soon about who they're selling to," Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone said Wednesday night at a Ward 4 ResiStat meeting. IKEA first bought land in Assembly Square in the 1990s, and the Swedish company's plans for the location were a longstanding subject of speculation in Somerville until July, when the furniture giant announced it was not building in the city. Curtatone, speaking after the meeting, did not know when IKEA would make the announcement, but said it would be very soon, very likely before Christmas and possibly within days. In terms of who would be taking over the parcel and what would be built there, the mayor said, "I expect an …

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mplo

10:31 am on Friday, December 7, 2012

A Super Wal*Mart and a Sam's Club would be the last places that Assembly Square row needs. There are all kinds of reasons why Wal*Mart wasn't welcome here in Somerville at all and subsequently moved on because of that. It was a relief for me and most other Somerville residents.   more ›

New England Revolution Eye Somerville for Soccer Stadium

The MLS soccer team and the city have had "conversations" about building a stadium in Assembly Square, according to New England Soccer Today.

Somerville and the New England Revolution, an MLS soccer team, have had discussions about building a new soccer stadium in Assembly Square, according to New England Soccer Today. The discussions are preliminary, and The Revolution are also considering Revere's Wonderland Greyhound Park as a possible site for a soccer-specific stadium, the article says. The MLS team has looked at Somerville as a possible place to build a stadium before, the soccer website says: In 2007 and 2008 it considered the Inner Belt and Brickbottom section of the city as a possible site. This time around, the case for Somerville is bolstered because Assembly Square would be home to an Orange Line station that's expected to open in 2014, according to New England …

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ambreen

9:42 am on Tuesday, January 29, 2013

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WGBH Asks: "With No IKEA, What's Next for Somerville's Assembly Square?"

Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone and Ellin Reisner of the Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership talked on WGBH radio about what IKEA's decision means for the city.

Callie Crossley, host of Boston Public Radio on WGBH, spoke to Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone and neighborhood activist Ellin Reisner Monday about IKEA's decision not to build in Assembly Square.  The two also spoke about the type of development they'd like to see built on the furniture company's 12 acres of land instead of an IKEA store. Curtatone said IKEA's decision to pull out of the neighborhood is an opportunity for the city to "create more jobs and more tax revenues than an IKEA would have ever brought in." "That site will sell and develop fast," he said. In fiscal year 2012, the city, for tax purposes, valued IKEA's land at $18,301,200, and the company paid $399,881 to the city in taxes. That was enough to put the company on the…

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City to Seek Eminent Domain Power Over IKEA Parcel, Says Mayor

If IKEA doesn't sell it's Assembly Square land to a developer, the city wants the ability to acquire the property, according to Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone.

Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone said "I fully expect" IKEA to sell its 12-acre parcel of land in Assembly Square to a new developer who will find a mixed-use, transportation-friendly use for the land. But if IKEA doesn't sell, the mayor wants the city of Somerville to have the power to take the parcel by eminent domain. Curtatone said the Somerville Redevelopment Authority will be asked to vote on July 26 on an amendment to the area's urban renewal plan that would classify IKEA's 12 acre plot as an "acquisition parcel." What that means, the mayor said, is that if, over time, there isn't sufficient movement toward developing the property, the city would have the power to take it by eminent domain. "We will not allow it to sit [undeveloped…

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It's Official: IKEA Not Coming to Somerville

The Swedish furniture giant has pulled plans for its store in Assembly Square.

IKEA has officially decided not to build a store in Somerville's Assembly Square. In a letter addressed to Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone, the furniture giant informed the city Thursday that it would not proceed with plans for a Somerville location. (You can read the letter to the right.) "We have made the very difficult decision not to pursue the construction of a Somerville store," the letter reads. Plans for the Somerville store started about 15 years ago, but Thursday's news did not come as a surprise. The Swedish company had previously stated its store in Stoughton took a lot of pressure off needing to build one in Somerville. In the letter to Curtatone, Doug Greenholz, U.S. real estate manager with IKEA, wrote, "Based on the …

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Chris Orchard

6:32 pm on Monday, July 23, 2012

Hey wendzday, excellent question. In the last fiscal year, the city valued the land at $18.3 million for tax purposes. It will be interesting to see what it ultimately sells for.   more ›

Buses Replace Evening Orange Line Trains Beginning July 8

The bus replacement service between Sullivan Square and Oak Grove allows the MBTA to build the new Orange Line station at Assembly Square.

Beginning July 8, and going until Dec. 28, buses will replace evening Orange Line trains between Sullivan Square and Oak Grove every Sunday through Thursday, according to the MBTA. On the effected nights, bus replacement service will begin at 9 p.m. and run until the T closes. The bus replacements will allow the MBTA to shut down Orange Line tracks in order to build the new Orange Line station in Assembly Square. This change in service is part of a wider series of bus diversions that will take place until 2014.

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Bus Replaces Orange Line Oak Grove to Sullivan Square This Weekend

Track work all weekend, Saturday and Sunday, June 9-10, means it'll be a bus trip between Oak Grove and Sullivan Square for the next two days.

Buses will replace Orange Line service from Oak Grove Station to Sullivan Square Station all weekend, Saturday and Sunday, June 9-10, according to an advisory on the MBTA website. The buses will make stops at all stations between Oak Grove and Sullivan Square. All shuttle bus stops are accessible for persons with disabilities. This service change, according to the MBTA, is in place in order for necessary Orange Line track work. Somerville Patch reported last month that construction on the new Assembly Square Orange Line stop, which has already begun, will lead to periodic bus diversions on the subway line beginning in June and lasting until the station is complete in fall of 2014. For more information, contact the MBTA Customer …

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'Odds Don't Look Good' For Somerville IKEA, Says Boston Biz Journal

An IKEA spokesperson said the Stoughton store "removed the urgency that may have existed in the mid 2000s" to open in Somerville, according to a Boston Business Journal Report on CBS Boston.

Perhaps the writing's been on the wall for a while when it comes to the long-awaited Somerville IKEA, but according to a report from CBS Boston and the Boston Business Journal, "The odds don't look good for a Somerville store." Read and watch the report here. The TV affiliate and newspaper note that IKEA still hasn't made a decision about whether or not to open in Somerville, but that lack of a decision may indicate the project is dead. It points out that IKEA opened just one store in the United States last year, and it opened none in 2010. IKEA, the Swedish flat-pack furniture giant, has been eyeing Somerville as a possible site for a store since the mid 1990s, and it owns land in Assembly Square, but over the years a land-swap deal with …

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Curtatone Promotes Assembly Row on 'Greater Boston'

Though the names of outlet stores in the Assembly Square development haven't been announced yet, the mayor said they would be "high quality."

  Somerville's mayor, Joseph Curtatone, spoke on WGBH's "Greater Boston" Monday night to discuss Assembly Row, the large development project in Assembly Square that would bring housing, office space, retail space, restaurants and a revitalized riverfront park to the area. Last week, it was reported that the area's developer, Federal Realty Investment Trust, was planning to target outlet stores in Assembly Square. Speaking to "Greater Boston's" host, Emily Rooney, Curtatone said the list of outlet stores planned for the area has not been announced yet, but he said they would be "high quality." Speaking about the retail environment in the development, the mayor said, "[To] get high quality, at value, this close to the urban core is unique. …

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