CITY RECEIVES 10 APPLICANTS FOR UNION SQUARE MASTER DEVELOPER

The
master developer partner will work with the City, the Redevelopment Authority,
current property owners and community members to design and implement the first
phase of the Union Square Revitalization Plan including the redevelopment of
seven key parcels identified in the plan. The master developer partner will be
selected by the criteria listed in the RFQ with the aim of achieving the
community's goals set forth in SomerVision and
preserving Union Square's history and unique character.

The
respondents, in alphabetical order, are:

• The
  Abbey Group: Developer
  of the Landmark
  Center and 1282
  Boylston Street, both in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston.

• The
  Community Builders:
  Developer of Tent City
  and Langham
  Court, both in Boston's South End.

• The Fallon Company: Master developer of Fan Pier in the Fort Point
  neighborhood of South Boston and developer of nearby Park Lane Seaport and Vertex
  Pharmaceuticals building.

• Gerding
  Edlin: Master developer
  of The
  Brewery Blocks and South
  Waterfront Central District, both in Portland, OR.

• The
  HYM Investment Group:
  Master developer of North
  Point on the Somerville-Cambridge line and the Government
  Center Garage in Boston.

• KSS Realty Partners
  and RedGate Real Estate:
  Co-developers of Maxwell's Green
  in Somerville. KSS is developing the Lead
  Mills site in Marblehead and RedGate is developing Boardwalk
  Residences at Marina Bay in Quincy.

• Magellan Development Group: Master developer of Lakeshore East
  and developer of the Chicago
  Youth Program Center at Washington Park, both in Chicago.

• National
  Development and Federal
  Realty Investment Trust:
  National Development has been developer of Longwood Center in
  Boston is developing the Ink Block
  in Boston's South End. Federal Realty
  Investment Trust is the master developer of Assembly Row in Somerville and Santana Row in San Jose, CA.

• Samuels
  and Associates:
  Developer of several blocks along Boylston Street and Brookline Avenue in
  the Fenway
  neighborhood of Boston and to create an urban village consistent with
  the neighborhood's master
  plan concept, and of Barry's
  Corner in North Allston.

• Trinity Financial:
  Master developer of Hamilton Canal
  District in Lowell and, in Boston's Bulfinch Triangle, developer of the
  adjacent Avenir
  and One
  Canal Street.

The
selection process for the master developer will be conducted jointly by the
Somerville Redevelopment Authority, the Union Square Civic Advisory Committee
(composed of area residents, advocates and business owners), and City staff.
The process will begin with an evaluation by the Mayor's Office of Strategic
Planning and Community Development of each respondent's qualifications and subsequent
identification of a short list of qualified candidates. Those finalists will be
interviewed by the Redevelopment Authority, Civic Advisory Committee and City
staff, and then invited to submit proposals for the project for the final
evaluation.

Criteria
used to evaluate the respondents include the financial capacity to complete the
project, experience with large-scale projects that incorporate commercial,
residential and institutional uses in a complex and dense urban setting,
demonstrable success in the highest standards of sustainability and
environmental sensitivity, and working with contaminated sites.

Respondents
will also be evaluated on proven ability to create a sense of community and
place, embracing the existing eclectic elements that define an area, experience
conducting public charrette design processes, and past success in using large-scale,
mixed-use development projects as a means of formulating a community benefits
and mitigation package, especially in providing new employment opportunities
for local residents.

"I'm encouraged that we received responses from renowned
developers with impressive credentials and a proven track record in building
exactly what the community seeks in Union Square-true mixed-use developments
that create office, retail and community space and residences centered around
public transportation, while blending with an existing urban neighborhood,"
said Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone. "Now begins the work of carefully reviewing
every response and developer. We will ensure that as we capitalize on the
tremendous potential within Union Square and achieve the community's goals as
laid out in SomerVision, that we retain the character and vibrancy that already
exists in this historic neighborhood."

"This is an important first step, attracting developers with
the expertise and resources to turn the community's vision for the future of
Union Square into brick and mortar," said Ward 2 Alderman Maryann Heuston. "As
we strive to create more jobs in our neighborhood, more and diverse homes that
ease the housing crunch and more commercial space that eases the tax burden on
all property owners, it's critical we hold true to our community's vision for
Union Square."

"The opportunities we have in Union Square to make a
significant, positive impact on our city's future don't come along very often,
so it's important we get this right, and that means carefully scrutinizing each
respondent to the RFQ and collaboratively shaping the neighborhood's future,"
said Ward 3 Alderman Bob McWatters. "I anticipate a diligent process that
equally weighs all the factors-not just the economic opportunities, but in
building a true transit-oriented Somerville neighborhood."

"We have a lot of work ahead of us. I am heartened to see a
strong response from developers, which means that the City and the Civic
Advisory Committee will have a lot of substance to review and many choices to
consider. Ultimately we need to determine which of the developers and
proposals, if any, have the greatest potential to realize Union Square's future
while carefully protecting its history and its truly vibrant current
character," said Wig Zamore, chairman of the Union Square Civic Advisory
Committee. "Whoever takes on this task must serve that balance. The Civic
Advisory Committee's broad variety of residents, business owners and community
activists will work together to hold developers who are deemed most responsive to
the high standards and goals we all have for the neighborhood."

The Somerville Redevelopment Authority released the RFQ in
December after determining that partnering with a master developer provides the
best course to realizing the community's values and goals for Union Square,
which include housing with a range of affordability, green and sustainable
development, more public green space, walkable and bikeable streets, office
space that creates permanent jobs, and a true mixed-use neighborhood that
seamlessly blends with the neighborhood and retains Union Square's identity.
The  master developer partner will be
required to work closely with current property owners  to explore opportunities for the joint
development of parcels designated in the plan and for the  establishment of a mutually agreed upon fair
market value for any acquired parcel. The goals for the neighborhood were
developed over several years, hundreds of meetings and community processes,
including the 20-year comprehensive SomerVision plan, the Union Square rezoning
approved in 2009 and the Union Square Revitalization Plan approved in 2012.