Photo courtesy of city of Somerville
Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne abandoned a plan to develop a new public safety complex outside Union Square after the city lost a legal battle over an eminent domain taking of the 90 Washington St. property.
Instead, the city will sell the property near an MBTA Green Line station to a housing developer to offset the $39 million it owes in damages, Ballantyne announced.
In October, the state Appeals Court upheld a Middlesex County jury award of $30 million to developer Corcoran Mullins Jennison, the owner of a former shopping center on the 4-acre property.
The Somerville Redevelopment Authority took the property by eminent domain under former mayor Joe Curtatone in 2019 and gave the property owners under $9 million. The city later tore down the shopping center’s buildings, leaving a triangle of asphalt and concrete.
In an announcement Wednesday evening, Ballantyne said the city will seek to offset the cost by selling the property to a housing developer for a project that will include affordable and market-rate units, ground-floor retail space and a potential new location for the fire department’s Engine 3.
“We remain unwavering in our commitment to providing our public safety personnel with the facilities they need, but the unforeseen costs associated with this particular property have significantly impacted our ability to proceed with the original plan for a combined public safety headquarters,” Ballantyne said in the statement.
Somerville will study “interim needs and options” for the fire and police departments, including potential upgrades to existing facilities in the short term, the mayor’s office announced.
In the announcement, Ballantyne said the proximity of the 90 Washington St. property to the MBTA’s East Somerville station made housing a desired use.
Arguments in the eminent domain case focused on whether housing or laboratory space was the most appropriate comparable use in determining the sale price. At the time, life science developers were pursuing sites in the nearby Inner Belt.
The current damages, including interest accrued after the court ruling, now total approximately $39 million, according to the announcement. The city will issue a short-term bond and other unspecified funds from the Somerville Redevelopment Authority, while beginning the disposition process.
