Project Overview
Mark Development and its partners at Beacon Communities and RISE Together are proposing a dynamic residential project in the Winter Hill neighborhood of Somerville. Located in a long-underutilized section of Broadway, the project (proposed under Chapter 40B) is inspired by the Winter Hill Neighborhood plan and offers a mix of affordable and market-rate residential units, retail space, community gathering areas, and a new Arts and Creative Civic enterprise space. The project, which is comprised of two mixed-use buildings, will create a new civic pocket plaza along Broadway and a new neighborhood pocket park on Sewall Street.
Key Project Elements
288 rental housing units (studio to 3 bedroom)
13,640 square feet of ground floor retail space
3,000 square feet of community space (flexible meeting area)
765 Square feet of Arts & Creative Enterprise space
15,000 square feet of publicly accessible civic space (plaza and park)
Project Design
Two mixed-use buildings (totaling 330,000 square feet) anchor the project, filling in a gap in the existing Broadway streetscape. Architects at Utile were inspired by the scale and character of the existing residential buildings on Broadway, the project is designed to resemble a collection of eight buildings of different sizes and architectural styles. Building heights transition from six stories along Broadway and Temple Streets to four stories adjacent to the abutting residential area.
The building design and location on the site creates an opportunity for two important new public spaces: a new civic pocket plaza on Broadway which establishes a significant part of the overall public realm design strategy and a new neighborhood pocket park on Sewall Street connected to the civic pocket plaza on Broadway via a landscaped pedestrian mews which will be publicly accessible at all times. Both have been designed by Future Green Studios.
The pocket plaza creates a valuable civic space by providing a safe and active pedestrian space surrounded by retail café zones. Embedded street furniture will create defined gathering spaces and the plaza offers a permeable paving carpet featuring a grouping of trees. The park will include informal seating areas, sustainable trees and plantings, and intuitive play areas. Like the civic pocket plaza it will contribute to the site-wide stormwater management system and will be designed to promote native habitats, including birds and pollinators.
News
Boston Globe: Somerville’s abandoned Star Market has finally been sold. More housing and retail are on the way.
Boston Business Journal: Somerville weighs project with nearly 300 apartments, no parking
Project Benefits
In addition to adding to the overall supply of housing, improving the public realm and maximizing the principles of sustainable development, the project offers the following benefits:
Significant new affordable housing:
132 affordable housing units, restricted to households earning 80% or below of AMI
12% of those units will be deeply affordable, restricted to households earning 30% or below of AMI
Infill development to replace existing blighted property
Passive House certifiable building design
Improved public realm via a new civic plaza and neighborhood pocket park
Transit-oriented development with no off-street parking to support a car-free future
Ample covered bike parking that allows for a 1:1 bike-to-unit ratio
Fully accessible pedestrian walking path to connect the Broadway thoroughfare with the surrounding residential community
Community Engagement
The project team originally shared proposals for this project in Summer 2021. Since that time, nearly 20 public meetings or hearings have been held and numerous individual meetings with abutters, community leaders and others have occurred. This includes Neighborhood meetings, Winter Hill Community Advisory Committee meetings, Urban Design Commission meetings and Somerville Redevelopment Authority meetings. The project has received unanimous approval by the City of Somerville Urban Design Commission, as well as letters of support from the Mayor, Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development, Office of Sustainability and Environment, the Somerville Redevelopment Authority and the Winter Hill Community Advisory Committee.
Project filings, updates, and upcoming meetings
Please check this area for updated filings, dates for upcoming meetings, and recordings of past public meetings.
Project Filings
299 Broadway – ZBA Hearing & Topics
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December 14th Somerville ZBA Hearing (12/14): Initial Meeting
Zoning Board of Appeals Hearing #1, 12/14/22 (recording)
January 4th Hearing (1/4): Detailed Review of Building Design, Affordable Housing, Sustainability (Passive House), Mobility & Parking
Zoning Board of Appeals Hearing #2, 1/4/23 (recording)
January 18th Hearing (1/18): Civic Spaces
Zoning Board of Appeals Hearing #3, 1/18/23 (recording)
February 1st Hearing (2/1)
Zoning Board of Appeals Hearing #4, 2/1/23 (recording)
Tentative Future ZBA Hearing(s):
Read more about the City of Somerville’s Winter Hill Plan Implementation