Station Landing, a mixed-use development project in Medford, will feature a total of 650 residences, a 190-room hotel, 100,000 square feet of retail space, parking for 1,350 cars and 165,000 square feet of office space in Wellington Circle.
A Newton developer recently broke ground on a mixed-use development project that is expected to transform a largely industrial and undeveloped part of Medford into a thriving neighborhood overlooking the Mystic River.
Called Station Landing, the project will feature a total of 650 residences, a 190-room hotel, 100,000 square feet of retail space, parking for 1,350 cars and 165,000 square feet of office space in Wellington Circle.
The project, which will have direct access to the MBTA’s Orange Line, is being hailed as a prime example of transit-oriented and smart-growth development because of its close proximity to public transportation and because it will utilize existing roads and infrastructure.
“I think it’s a tremendous project for the city of Medford,” said Mayor Michael McGlynn. “The city has had visions for the last 25 years of developing that area and now to be able to be part of a project that represents transit-oriented development and new urbanism – to have a facility where you can live, work, and play along the historic shores of Mystic River overlooking Boston – is just a tremendous opportunity.”
Station Landing will be built on a 16-acre site that was once owned by Cabot, Cabot & Forbes of New England, which planned to construct a suburban office park. Over the last 20 years, the site, formerly known as Mystic Center, was home to various stores that were later shuttered.
In the late 1980s, a 165,000-square-foot office building and a parking garage for over 1,600 cars were developed on the site.
National Development, a Newton-based real company known for its master-planned office and industrial parks, purchased the land, along with the office building and parking garage, in late 2002. Ted Tye, managing partner of National Development, said the company was drawn to the Medford location for several reasons.
The intersection near the site is one of the busiest in eastern Massachusetts, with approximately 140,000 vehicles driving past the site every day providing a steady stream of potential customers for any retail stores in the area. Further, there are 750,000 people within a five-mile radius of the property, according to Tye.
In addition, the property features waterfront views and access to parks, a marina and public transportation – all of which make it a unique and attractive site, said Tye.
National Development also saw that there was a market for high-end residential development in Medford. “We saw a real need for good, high-quality residential development in that area,” said Tye.
‘A Superb Model’
But before National Development acquired the property, company leaders met with city officials to discuss their plans to create a new community featuring a mix of residences, retail and office space.
City officials eagerly embraced National Development’s idea after seeing the site languish undeveloped for nearly two decades.
“We watched this site lie dormant for many years while Cabot, Cabot & Forbes pursued other arenas and sites. We were thrilled to welcome National Development,” City Council President Stephanie Burke said in an e-mail. “They have been very forthcoming with their plans and thorough with their presentations.”
State leaders also have taken notice of the development. Massachusetts Office of Commonwealth Development Undersecretary Stephen Burrington attended the groundbreaking for the first phase of the project on Nov. 4.
“Station Landing provides a superb model of how the public and private sectors can collaborate to create great new places to live in Massachusetts. This is exactly the kind of handsome, pedestrian-friendly and transit-oriented development the Romney administration is promoting,” Burrington said in a press release announcing the project.
The project already has provided fiscal benefits for Medford. The building permit alone generated $425,000.
“For us, that’s a fire engine,” said McGlynn, who noted that Station Landing will expand the city’s tax base, help stabilize the tax rate in the community and create job opportunities both during and after construction.
National Development also will pay a linkage fee to the city of more than $1.2 million, which will be used for public safety, parks, roads and water and sewer improvements.
But most importantly, the project will convert the site into a pedestrian-friendly community with a landscaped main street that will lead to the waterfront park.
For years, McGlynn and other local leaders have had visions of connecting one end of Medford to another along the Mystic River, giving residents an opportunity to walk, job or cycle from one part of the city to another.
“This is another piece of the puzzle that will make that a reality,” he said.
McGlynn also believes that Station Landing will spur another project called River’s Edge, a development with residences and a research and development campus that the cities of Medford, Everett and Malden are jointly working on to get off the ground.
“It becomes the catalyst for the River’s Edge project, which is literally 200 yards from this development,” he said.
National Development sought a full rezoning of the property, which was zoned for a suburban office park, in order to be able to build the residential units. The property was rezoned in June of last year, just five months after the company purchased the land.
The quick process underscored the widespread support for the project in the community. “I don’t think [there’s been] a more cooperative venture between the city and a private developer,” Tye said.
One of the unique aspects of the project, according to Tye, is its new urbanism design, which is focused on creating a 2005 version of a traditional main street. The first phase of the project, currently under construction, will include 292 luxury apartments. The apartments will be located on the top floors of two 6-story buildings with 67,000 square feet of retail space on the first floor.
A main street, which will extend through the entire Station Landing project, will separate the two apartment buildings.
“It will be a 24-hour community,” with restaurants and other businesses that will be open throughout the day, said Tye.
Residents, workers and visitors will have direct access to public transportation via an overhead tram system that connects Station Landing with the Wellington Station stop on the MBTA’s Orange Line.
Station Landing also has access to a riverfront park, with walking and jogging trails, and a marina along the banks of the Mystic River.
“It’s a little bit different than throwing up a suburban apartment building. This is really creating a community of which the residential will be a part,” said Tye.
The first phase of the project is scheduled to be finished by April of 2006. The second phase of the project, which is currently planned to break ground in the fall of 2005, will feature 140 high-end condominiums in a 12-story tower that overlooks the Boston skyline and offers views of the Mystic River. The remaining residential units will likely be a mix of rental and homeownership, depending on market conditions, according to Tye.
Tye said prices and rents have not been established yet but will be comparable to other high-end units in the marketplace.
McGlynn said his office already has received phone calls from residents inquiring about the second phase of Station Landing who are interested in purchasing a condo. “I think it’s going to be a very hot product,” he said.
Aglaia Pikounis may be reached at apikounis@thewarrengroup.com.
