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.