Image courtesy of USQ

The first phase in a planned mixed-use development next to Somerville’s Union Square looks finally set to get out of the ground.

USQ, a joint venture of Magellan Development Group, RAS Development, Cypress Equity Investments and USAA Real Estate, plans a 194,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art life sciences and lab facility and an adjacent 450-unit residential tower next to a soon-to-be-completed Green Line Extension stop.

Bank OZK is financing development of both buildings. JLL Capital Markets Senior Managing Directors Daniel Kaufman and Frederic Wittmann, and Managing Director Brett Paulsrud, represented the development team in the negotiations.

In a statement, Arkansas-based Bank OZK said it was attracted by the project’s “marquee real estate, strong market fundamentals and top-tier sponsorship.”

Later phases of the USQ project will see 2.4 million square feet of development built on the site, which has laid empty as nearby areas like the city’s Boynton Yards neighborhood spawned other life science projects in anticipation of the train’s arrival. The project has been in process since 2014, when the USQ team was selected by city officials to lead the redevelopment of the area, which had previously been home to light industrial and automotive uses, among others.

“This a tremendous beginning for the revitalization of Union Square. A new Class A life sciences building will anchor the neighborhood and create opportunities for the next great concentration of life sciences and technology companies to flourish,” USQ principal Greg Karczewski said in a statement. “New housing, retail opportunities and open spaces next to the new MBTA Station will make this great neighborhood even better.”

When complete, USQ will offer 1.4 million square feet of office-lab space and 1,000 new housing units, plus retail space.