Greg Karczewski
Imagine a neighborhood where innovative entrepreneurs are working on life-changing technologies. Where you can find the hottest new restaurants and support local businesses at the farmer’s market each Saturday morning. A neighborhood brimming with a pioneering spirit and with residents who are looking for a place to grow.
This is the kind of intangible magic that makes a true neighborhood, and it’s something that developers all over Boston and beyond try to create. While this is a challenge in other neighborhoods, Somerville’s Union Square has a sense of character and authenticity that residents know is important to preserve.
Instead of being challenged to create a sense of place in Union Square, we’re tasked with redeveloping the area into a vibrant commercial district where both long-term residents and would-be entrepreneurs can thrive. By focusing on commercial development we will support the existing spirit of innovation and bolster the city of Somerville with a dramatic increase in commercial tax revenue.
Supporting Long-term Innovation
Somerville’s Greentown Labs is not only the largest clean technology incubator in the country, it’s an ecosystem of innovative companies and individuals looking to grow in Union Square. Tenants attract students and graduates of Harvard and MIT, both just a mile away from Union Square, who want to stay in the area. New commercial space is a necessity in order to support the companies that outgrow Greentown Labs, like RightHand Robotics. The tech startup recently became the first commercial tenant in the historic Union Square Post Office building, a move that will help RightHand Robotics retain its current employees and offer access to the talent it needs to grow.
Union Square is an emerging employment center in the middle of the triangle of brain power that spans Somerville and Cambridge. RightHand Robotics’ growth trajectory offers a blueprint for other companies as Union Square evolves into an employment center. It offers a glimpse of the Union Square of the future: a place where entrepreneurs, startups and businesses large and small can find space to grow and attract the best talent. Through strategic redevelopment, groundwork is being laid for further economic development to come.
Infrastructure Sets Stage For Regional Economic Growth
Central to elevating Union Square as a regional economic driver is the Green Line Extension (GLX), a $2.3 billion transit project that will provide greater (and much needed) connectivity to the region and make the neighborhood a viable alternative to Kendall Square, where companies continue to be priced out. With the contract awarded last month, the GLX is finally moving forward and will serve an estimated 9,000 riders each day when service starts in 2021. A new MBTA station is one piece of the puzzle set to make Union Square a more pedestrian-friendly neighborhood. Additionally, over $60 million of infrastructure and streetscape improvements will also make the neighborhood more cohesive and walkable by easing congestion and expanding multimodal accessibility.
Plans to revitalize Union Square have long been underway, but 2018 will be a pivotal year for the neighborhood as construction of the first development phase, a mix of commercial and residential uses, is planned to start. At full build out, the project will include 2.4 million square feet of new mixed use development including 1.4 million square feet of new workspaces for companies that generate over 5,000 new jobs in Somerville. The commercial space will be complemented by new open space, housing, retail and services that will even further expand neighborhood amenities. As master developer for Union Square, we have an opportunity to celebrate and support what is uniquely Union Square throughout the redevelopment process as we unlock its potential as an employment center and regional economic driver.
Greg Karczewski is president of Union Square Station Assoc.
