On Nov. 3 a store opened its doors in Somerville - and the city took one small step toward realizing its goal of revitalizing one of its most troubled areas.
The Christmas Tree Shop was the first store to open in the redevelopment of Assembly Square Mall. The mall, located off Interstate 93 behind Home Depot, Loews Cinemas and Circuit City, has been at the center of local debate since it closed down in 1997.
Assembly Square Mall has been notorious for car theft and drug deals in recent years, but with the sale of the property from Assembly Square Limited Partners to Frontier Realty in March, the city expects the redevelopment project to get on track.
Zoning for the project was approved a year and a half ago, according to Alderman-at-Large William White. The project is being completed in four phases.
The first phase is the renovation of the actual mall, which is nearly complete. The next phase is the construction of a Main Street - with mixed use housing, offices and shopping - running between the mall and the property designated for a new Ikea store. The third phase is the construction of the Ikea. The final stage is the construction of an MBTA subway station and high-density housing on Yard 21 of the property, currently occupied by Good Time Emporium.
While the mall will produce some revenue for the city, White said, most funds will be generated by the office and residential space.
"Different types of development bring in different types of taxes," White said. "The mall doesn't bring in sizeable tax money but the high density residential should generate three-quarters of a billion in development."
According to White, the most important piece is the T stop. In August, Congress approved $25 million toward the extension of the Orange Line to Assembly Square. "Much of the development hinges on the T stop, which is the final stage," he said.
While the T station is important to Somerville, Director of Community Relations Barbara Rubel said it would have little effect on Tufts. "Transportation is a big issue," she said, but "an Orange Line stop wouldn't be helpful for our students." Getting to Assembly Square still requires either a car or bus for Tufts students.
The project has faced opposition from citizen's groups, most notably the Mystic Valley Task Force, which charge that the project is heavily focused on big box stores and will increase traffic in the city.
"It's a first step in a disastrous process that will severely limit Somerville's future," Bill Shelton, the group's founder, told the Somerville Journal. The group has stalled the construction of the Ikea store since 2002 with lawsuits against the project.
"The whole project is very important to the city of Somerville but it is also very controversial," Rubel said. "There are people who have some very strong opinions for and against the proposed developments."
Whether or not the entire project will be completed, and how long it will take, is still anyone's guess, Rubel said. "What you are looking at is a huge controversy and the prospect of 'someday.'"
