Assembly Square Marketplace
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Assembly Square is a neighborhood in Somerville,
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, United States. It is located along the west bank of the
Mystic River The Mystic River is a riverU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 in Massachusetts. In the Massachusett language, means "large estuary", alluding to the tidal ...
, bordered by Ten Hills and
Massachusetts Route 28 Route 28 is a nominally south–north state highway in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, running from the town of Eastham, Massachusetts, Eastham via Boston, Massachusetts, Boston to the New Hampshire state line in Methuen, Massachusetts, M ...
to the north and the Charlestown neighborhood of
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
to the south. The district's western border runs along
Interstate 93 Interstate 93 (I-93) is an Interstate Highway in the New England states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont in the United States. Spanning approximately along a north–south axis, it is one of three primary Interstate Highways ...
. Located from downtown Boston, the parcel is named for a former
Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...
plant that closed in 1958. The area is home to Assembly Row, a mixed-use,
smart growth Smart growth is an urban planning and transportation theory that concentrates growth in compact walkable urban centers to avoid sprawl. It also advocates compact, transit-oriented, walkable, bicycle-friendly land use, including neighborhood ...
development that broke ground in April 2012 and opened in 2014. It includes retail outlets, restaurants, residential space, office and
research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as OKB, experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage ...
space, a 12-screen cinema and a 200-room hotel. Other amenities include a marina, a revitalized waterfront park, bike paths and other green space. The area is served by the
MBTA Orange Line The Orange Line is a rapid transit line operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) as part of the MBTA subway system. The line runs south on the surface from Oak Grove station in Malden, Massachusetts through Malden and M ...
at Assembly station.


History


Early use

In the 17th century, the southern bank of the Mystic River, a low-lying tidal marsh and wetlands area bordered by uplands further south in the current Ten Hills neighborhood, was avoided by the early settlers because of poorly draining clay soils. The highland site on Ten Hills offered better agricultural land and the first Governor of Massachusetts,
John Winthrop John Winthrop (January 12, 1588 – March 26, 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and a leading figure in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the fir ...
, chose it for the site of his farmstead. The location of the Ten Hills site on the Mystic River made it a natural choice for the transport of people and goods, and the first seagoing vessel built in this region was launched from there. Trade and transport led to an expansion of the area’s economy and population. The construction of the
Middlesex Canal The Middlesex Canal was a 27-mile (44-kilometer) barge canal connecting the Merrimack River with the port of Boston. When operational it was 30 feet (9.1 m) wide, and 3 feet (0.9 m) deep, with 20 locks, each 80 feet (24 m) long and between 10 ...
at the end of the 18th century accelerated this process. By the early 1800s, there were 10 shipyards along the Mystic River. The area had developed into a transportation corridor from Boston to the region. At mid-century, rail surpassed the canal as the most efficient mode of transport and the construction of two railroads across Somerville in 1845 and 1854, along with the opening of a station at Sullivan Square, brought even more development to the area.


Industrial development

It was not until the construction of the McGrath Highway in 1925 that full industrial development, albeit short-lived, took hold in Somerville. The
Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...
built an assembly plant here in 1926, which would, over time, lend Assembly Square its name. Additionally, the
Boston and Maine Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad was a United States, U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. It was chartered in 1835, and became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the e ...
also owned large tracts of land in the district and the land was criss-crossed by spur tracks. With both road and rail connections, the strong transportation infrastructure was a major draw, and other industries soon followed, including First National Stores, a retail supermarket chain, which opened a grocery manufacturing and distribution center in the area. Within the next 30 years, Assembly Square remained one of the largest employment centers in the region. However, in 1958, as a result of the failure of the Edsel Division of the Ford Motor Company and the change in Ford’s manufacturing strategies, the Assembly Plant was closed. It hurt the area both economically and physically, taking away hundreds of jobs and leaving a vast complex of empty manufacturing buildings. First National moved into the Assembly Plant site shortly after Ford's departure. By the late 1950s and early 1960s, industries were already making the choice to move to suburban locations along newly constructed highways, where land costs were lower. The construction of the elevated
Northern Expressway Northern Expressway (also known as the Fatchen Northern Expressway) is a 21 kilometre long controlled-access highway in Adelaide, South Australia. Since March 2020, the North–South Motorway continues west of Port Wakefield Highway and interse ...
portion of
Interstate 93 Interstate 93 (I-93) is an Interstate Highway in the New England states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont in the United States. Spanning approximately along a north–south axis, it is one of three primary Interstate Highways ...
in the 1970s segregated the uses on both sides of the highway and significantly reduced its access and visibility from the surrounding areas. In 1976, First National closed its operations, marking the end of Assembly Square as a major industrial employment center.


Redevelopment

In 1979, the City of Somerville declared the Assembly Square District to be blighted and substandard, and adopted the "Assembly Square Revitalization Plan," a 20-year urban renewal plan, in an effort to assist in redevelopment. Under the direction of the plan, the area’s focus began to shift to retail, the cornerstone of which was the rehabilitation of the former auto assembly plant into a retail mall, Assembly Square Mall. The next year the shopping center opened with of retail space, and
Kmart Kmart ( ), formerly legally registered as Kmart Corporation, now operated by Transformco, is a department-store chain and online retailer in the United States and Territories of the United States, its territories. It operates four remaining Kma ...
and
Jordan Marsh Jordan Marsh was an American department store chain founded in 1841 by Eben Dyer Jordan and Benjamin L. Marsh. It was headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and operated throughout New England. The destruction of the historical flagship store o ...
as anchors. It was like many smaller “dumbbell” style malls of its era, with an anchor at each end of the mall and a straight hallway between, and a
food court A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food Vendor, vendors and provides a common area for self-serve di ...
in the center. A six-screen movie theater and a four-story office building were also built on the site. Two new roadways, Assembly Square Drive and New Road, were constructed to improve access. Despite a lack of a cohesive master plan and funding, Assembly took a big step with the arrival of a
Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., often referred to as Home Depot, is an American multinational corporation, multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportat ...
on in 1992 at a site next to the mall, bringing a
big-box store A big-box store, a hyperstore, a supercenter, a superstore, or a megastore is a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain of stores. The term sometimes also refers, by extension, to the company that operates the store. The ...
to the area for the first time. At the mall, the anchor stores remained the same until 1996 when
Macy's Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. The first store was located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, south of the present-day flagship store at Herald Square on West 34 ...
acquired the Jordan Marsh chain and shuttered the store in 1997. By 1999, the mall had been closed off except for Kmart and
Building 19 Building #19 was a New England chain of discount closeout retailers that operated from 1964 until it declared bankruptcy in 2013. At the time of its bankruptcy, it had thirteen stores. The family that owned the chain later reopened two of the f ...
, which had the year prior moved into the old Macy's/Jordan Marsh space. In 1998, Mystic View Task Force, a citizens group, was formed to advocate for community interests in future Assembly projects. A vision emerged from the forum, of a pedestrian-oriented mixed-use development that could provide 30 additional acres of usable open space, over 30,000 diverse jobs, and over $30 million in new net tax revenue. Mystic View presented evidence that, developed as an office-based neighborhood with supporting retail and housing, Assembly Square could easily achieve those goals. But in order to do that, big-box behemoths — which had dominated much of the Assembly discussion — could not be an option. In 1999, the internationally known Swedish home furnishings store
IKEA IKEA ( , ) is a Multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in Sweden that designs and sells , household goods, and various related services. IKEA is owned and operated by a series of not-for-profit an ...
purchased two former industrial sites on the Mystic River waterfront. IKEA obtained permits for its proposed retail store; however, the permits were challenged in court by community members opposed to a "big box" use on the waterfront, with the result that redevelopment of the site was stalled for a number of years.


Smart growth development

In 2000, the Somerville Redevelopment Authority (SRA) acquired title to a 9.3-acre former railroad parcel in Assembly Square and issued an RFP for developers. At the same time, the City initiated an extensive public planning process, producing the "2000 Planning Study" which set out a new vision for Assembly Square as a 24-hour mixed use district with residential, retail, office, cinema, restaurant, hotel, and recreational open space uses. In 2002, the SRA and the City adopted a 20-year extension of the urban renewal plan with the goal of transforming Assembly Square into the mixed-use district described in the 2000 Planning Study. Assembly Square was rezoned to promote the mixed-use concept, and design guidelines and a design review committee were created to provide additional assistance. In 2005,
Federal Realty Investment Trust Federal Realty Investment Trust is a real estate investment trust that invests in shopping centers in the Northeastern United States, the Mid-Atlantic states, California, and South Florida. Investments As of December 31, 2021, the company owned ...
(FRIT), a Maryland-based
real estate investment trust A real estate investment trust (REIT, pronounced "reet") is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of real estate, including office and apartment buildings, studios, warehouses, hos ...
and developer, purchased the defunct Assembly Square Mall along with other properties in Assembly Square. FRIT quickly redeveloped the existing mall into the Assembly Square Marketplace. Later in 2006, Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone aided in bringing FRIT and IKEA together to come up with a feasible redevelopment plan consistent with the new vision. FRIT and IKEA agreed to trade parcels, moving IKEA inland from its initial site and leaving the waterfront open for FRIT to create pedestrian friendly, mixed-use development. The new plan, developed b
Street-Works Studio LLC
for Federal Realty, integrated residential, office, retail and open space across the site and embraced the waterfront for public use and a future transit stop
Street-Works Studio
worked with project-wide consultants to ensure phasing, retail connectedness, developed design guidelines, and brought an important human-scale aesthetic to the project, thinking of the "whole" and every user experience, not just on a block by block basis. This new plan was welcomed by those who had previously opposed the IKEA development. The land swap was executed in October 2009 solidifying the vision of the district. After more than a decade of planning, IKEA formally pulled out of the Assembly Square project in July 2012, stating that its Stoughton store was sufficient to serve the state. The next year, it was announced that FRIT would purchase the from IKEA. This sale means that FRIT owns nearly all of the property at Assembly Square. After two years of preparing the former
brownfields Brownfield is previously-developed land that has been abandoned or underused, and which may carry pollution, or a risk of pollution, from industrial use. The specific definition of brownfield land varies and is decided by policy makers and l ...
site, the ground was broken in April 2012 for two residential apartment blocks, a new main street, and a new MBTA transit
infill station An infill station (sometimes in-fill station) is a train station built on an existing passenger rail, rapid transit, or light rail line to address demand in a location between existing stations. Such stations take advantage of existing train ser ...
. The apartment buildings, the Avalon at Assembly Square (195 units) and AVA Somerville (253 units), are designed by
Elkus Manfredi Architects Elkus Manfredi Architects is an architectural firm based in Boston, Massachusetts founded in 1988 by David Manfredi and Howard F. Elkus, both fellows of the American Institute of Architects. History In 2022 Elkus Manfredi was the largest archite ...
and developed by AvalonBay Communities Inc., a US-based Real Estate Investment Trust and manager of luxury apartments. In 2016, Sports Authority closed after the chain went out of business and was replaced by Burlington in 2018. A.C. Moore also closed in 2016 and was replaced by
Trader Joe's Trader Joe's is an American grocery store chain headquartered in Monrovia, California, with 597 locations across the US. The first Trader Joe's store was opened in 1967 by founder Joe Coulombe in Pasadena, California. In 1979, the chain was s ...
in 2017, with
Xfinity Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, doing business as Xfinity, is an American telecommunications business segment and division of the Comcast Corporation. It is used to market consumer cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless servic ...
joining in 2019. In November 2019, Kmart was closed by
Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...
.


Marketplace

Assembly Square Marketplace is a
retail park A retail park is a type of shopping centre found on the fringes of most large towns and cities in the United Kingdom and other European countries. Retail parks form a key aspect of European retail geographies, alongside indoor shopping centres, ...
and
mixed-use development Mixed use is a type of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning classification that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions ...
located in Assembly Square. From the 1980s until the mid-2000s, it was an enclosed
shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...
called Assembly Square Mall. Scheduled plans for the facility call for a six phased expansion, thus changing its classification into super regional mall. of office, retail, residential, research and development, hospitality and entertainment space are envisioned by project completion in 2011.


Marketplace history

Assembly Square Mall opened in 1980. The mall building was previously occupied by Somerville Assembly, a
Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...
factory, and was later used as a supermarket distribution center before its conversion to a mall. The mall was originally anchored by a
Jordan Marsh Jordan Marsh was an American department store chain founded in 1841 by Eben Dyer Jordan and Benjamin L. Marsh. It was headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and operated throughout New England. The destruction of the historical flagship store o ...
and a
Kmart Kmart ( ), formerly legally registered as Kmart Corporation, now operated by Transformco, is a department-store chain and online retailer in the United States and Territories of the United States, its territories. It operates four remaining Kma ...
. These anchor stores remained the same until 1996, when
Macy's Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. The first store was located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, south of the present-day flagship store at Herald Square on West 34 ...
acquired Jordan Marsh. Macy's closed the store in 1997, and by 1999, it was replaced with
Building 19 Building #19 was a New England chain of discount closeout retailers that operated from 1964 until it declared bankruptcy in 2013. At the time of its bankruptcy, it had thirteen stores. The family that owned the chain later reopened two of the f ...
. Shortly after Building 19 opened, the mall was closed off except for Building 19 and Kmart. The vacant mall and Building 19 spaces were gutted and reconfigured in 2005. The Kmart store remained in place. The new Assembly Square Marketplace was completed in early 2006. The area around the mall will be redeveloped as an "
urban village In urban planning and urban design, design, an urban village is an urban development typically characterized by medium-density housing, mixed use zoning, good public transit and an emphasis on pedestrianization and public space. Contemporary urb ...
"-style development.


Ownership and occupants

The property owner and lead developer for both Assembly Row and Assembly Square Marketplace is Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRIT), a Maryland-based
real estate investment trust A real estate investment trust (REIT, pronounced "reet") is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of real estate, including office and apartment buildings, studios, warehouses, hos ...
. The first Legoland Discovery Centre in
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
and seventh in the United States is located on the property. The indoor
family entertainment center A family entertainment center (FEC) in the entertainment industry, also known as an indoor amusement park, family amusement center, family fun center, soft play, or simply fun center, is a small amusement park marketed towards families with small ...
based on
Lego Lego (, ; ; stylised as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. Lego consists of variously coloured interlocking plastic bricks made of acrylonitri ...
construction toy A construction set is a standardized piece assortment allowing for the construction of various different models. Construction sets are most often marketed as toys. Popular construction toy brands include Lincoln Logs and ''LEGO''. Toys ...
s is housed in a space opened in Spring 2014. In addition to Legoland,
Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...
has signed a deal to open a store at Assembly, as did the French cookware maker
Le Creuset Le Creuset (, meaning "the crucible") is a French-Belgian maker of cookware. They are best known for producing enameled cast-iron cookware. The company first manufactured their products in the town of Fresnoy-le-Grand in France in 1925, whic ...
. Other retailers will include
Brooks Brothers Brooks Brothers Inc. is an American clothing brand founded in 1818 which is the oldest apparel brand in continuous operation in the United States. Originally a family business, it is currently owned as a joint venture between Authentic Brands G ...
, women’s clothier Chico's, and the ice cream shop J.P. Licks.
AMC Theatres AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (doing business as AMC Theatres, originally an abbreviation for American Multi-Cinema; often referred to simply as AMC) is an American movie theater chain founded in Kansas City, Missouri, and now headquartered ...
is also opening a 12-screen cinema on the property. Among the new restaurants are the Mexican eatery Papagayo, and Earls Kitchen + Bar, which opened its first Northeast US location at Assembly Row. In December 2013, Partners HealthCare System, the state's largest hospital and physician organization, announced it would consolidate administrative operations from 14 sites in eastern Massachusetts and move 4,500 non-hospital employees into of a new office building already opened as of 2016. While the company’s executive headquarters would remain in Boston, offices throughout the region, including locations in Charlestown, Wellesley and Needham closed. In early September 2014, Legal Sea Foods opened "Legal on the Mystic", a restaurant overlooking the
Mystic River The Mystic River is a riverU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 in Massachusetts. In the Massachusett language, means "large estuary", alluding to the tidal ...
. The Assembly Row website gives information on the new neighborhood businesses and eateries. In November 2014, SmartBear Software announced the move of their headquarters from Beverly, Massachusetts to Assembly Row. Their office houses their 100+ headquartered employees.


Parks

On the north side of Assembly Square is the Mystic River. From Route 28 to the MBTA Orange Line and
Haverhill Line The Haverhill Line (formerly the Haverhill/Reading Line) is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running north from downtown Boston, Massachusetts to Haverhill, Massachusetts, Haverhill. The service operates on the Western Route of the form ...
tracks is the waterfront Sylvester Baxter Riverfront Park. This was redeveloped as part of Assembly Square construction, and enlarged with a land swap between FRIT and the
Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, situated in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. It is best known for its parks and parkways. Th ...
(DCR). DCR also owns the existing Draw 7 Park, which lies on a narrow strip next to the Mystic River as it curves southward between the Orange Line and the Newburyport/Rockport Line Commuter Rail tracks. FRIT has also committed to building a pedestrian underpass to connect Baxter Park to the Somerville side of the
Mystic River Reservation Mystic River State Reservation is a publicly owned nature preserve with recreational features located along the Mystic River in the towns of Winchester, Arlington, Medford, Somerville, Everett, and Chelsea in eastern Massachusetts ...
(the next segment being known as the Shore Drive Parklands).


References


External links


Assembly Row project siteDeveloper websiteCity of Somerville pageMBTA Project for Assembly Square Orange Line station


{{coord, 42, 23, 35, N, 71, 04, 50, W, display=title Buildings and structures in Somerville, Massachusetts Mystic River Neighborhoods in Somerville, Massachusetts Populated places in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Squares in Somerville, Massachusetts