The T has unveiled designs for the proposed Assembly Square Orange Line station and tonight the public is invited to meet the team behind the project.
According to the MBTA’s website, the new station in Somerville is being constructed to alleviate traffic congestion and add a new stop for Orange Line riders.
The stop will be located between Wellington Station and Sullivan Square and sits in a proposed redevelopment zone slated to include a hotel, residential units and retail and office space.
“[The station] is a crucial part of the overall development area,” said Somerville spokesman Tom Champion.
According to Champion, IKEA has even secured permits to build near the station.
In early October, the MBTA Board of Directors granted S&R Enterprises the contract to begin construction on the nearly $30 million project.
According to members from the Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership, the T stop is the “necessary foundation to a sustainable mixed-use project in this waterfront district” which they say has been underutilized for a generation.
Residents are hopeful the new station and adjacent units will provide a majority of Somerville’s future job prospects and affordable housing.
The project is scheduled to open in 2014, according to the T’s website.
Details
Assembly Square
2,100 residential units
2.75 million square feet of retail and office space
200-room hotel
Meet and greet
7-8:30 p.m.
Capuano Early Childhood Center
150 Glen St., Somerville
Follow Steve Annear on Twitter @steveannear.
