Assembly Square
It is located along the west bank of the Mystic River, bordered by Ten Hills and Massachusetts Route 28 to the north and the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston to the south.
Located 2.5 mi (4.0 km) from downtown Boston, the 143 acres (580,000 m2) parcel is named for a former Ford Motor Company plant that closed in 1958.
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 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.
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.
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.
[6] 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 portion of Interstate 93 in the 1970s segregated the uses on both sides of the highway and significantly reduced its access and visibility from the surrounding areas.
[8] Despite a lack of a cohesive master plan and funding, Assembly took a big step with the arrival of a Home Depot on 11 acres (4.5 ha; 0.017 sq mi) in 1992 at a site next to the mall, bringing a big-box store to the area for the first time.
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.
The new plan, developed by 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.
[11] After two years of preparing the former brownfields site, the ground was broken in April 2012 for two residential apartment blocks, a new main street, and a new MBTA transit infill station.
The indoor family entertainment center based on Lego construction toys is housed in a 44,000 sq ft (4,100 m2) space opened in Spring 2014.
[22] 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 700,000 sq ft (65,000 m2) 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.
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 (DCR).
FRIT has also committed to building a pedestrian underpass to connect Baxter Park to the Somerville side of the Mystic River Reservation (the next segment being known as the Shore Drive Parklands).
