The first redevelopment plans for the city’s nearly 4-acre site at 90 Washington St. will be talked about publicly at an advisory committee meeting held online April 22.
Feedback on the proposals from the public is welcomed as 90 Washington Street Civic Advisory Committee members review and discuss, the city said in a Monday email.
“I’ll be there, and I hope residents will join me,” mayor Jake Wilson said. “Come take a look at what’s being proposed, ask questions and tell us what matters to you. The more we hear from the community now, the better this project will be.”
The city seized the land in 2019 for a new public safety building, paying $8.7 million, but the owners of the former Cobble Hill Shopping Center land sued and said the land was worth more. In October 2024, the city was told by an appeals court that it agreed. It told Somerville that the city owed the previous owners $26.5 million more – or nearly $30 million more with interest.
One of the goals of a city plan for the site is to make the money back with a sale by mid- to late 2027 to a developer interested in delivering a mix of uses: commercial ones such as retail and restaurants; dense, transit-oriented housing affordable to a range of incomes; public green space; and places for community organizations. The site is close to the East Somerville MBTA green line station that opened in December 2022.
Proposals gauging developer interest were due Friday. They are expected to be available to review by the end of this week at somervillema.gov/90-washington-redevelopment.
The public meeting runs 5:30 to 7 p.m. April 22, and will be held online via Zoom.
The meeting is an early opportunity for community members to learn about proposals, ask questions and help shape the future of one of the city’s largest redevelopment sites, the city said.
“Decisions like this shape the future of our city for decades,” Wilson said.
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