Possibility of housing seen for Somernova plan, while proposed parking amount becomes ‘TBD’

Early public comment suggests an uphill battle for a $3.3 billion project that would add 1.6 million square feet of space to the Somernova business complex in Somerville’s Ward 2, though the group behind the proposal is adding sweeteners such as more investment in the community and the potential for housing,

Rafi Investments, which owns the Somernova properties, submitted an official proposal Dec. 14 for its campus expansion, changing zoning to create a Climate & Equity Innovation Sub-Area Overlay District. The City Council referred it to a Land Use Committee where councilors will weigh the pros and cons and take more public comment.

Somerville allows proposals to change zoning by a single property owner or a signed petition by 10 residents; more than enough voters, including former mayor Joseph Curtatone, signed on.

The application identifies several reasons for the proposal, including creating more space to accommodate growing green tech companies such as Greentown Labs, which Rafi says is crucial to address the climate crisis. In creating this development, Rafi is also proposing a large community center, the planting of more than 100 trees, additional bike lanes and more open space. 

According to the application, the zoning overlay would include three properties Rafi does not own at 460, 444 and 440 Somerville Ave. 

New building types

While the overlay would represent an addition to the zoning code, the text of the amendment specifies it applies only to Rafi’s own Somernova campus. 

The amendment proposes four building types, three of which exist in Somerville’s zoning code.

One is a general building, which typically features commercial space on the bottom floor with residential uses on the top floors; current zoning in the Somernova district does not allow it, but residents complained in October that Rafi’s plan lacks housing, and in the proposed zoning, residential uses would now be permitted throughout the area. 

“We heard from everyone about housing,” said Russ Preston of Somernova at a Dec. 15 Union Square Neighborhood Council meeting. Although it’s not in the current plan, “we think it would be appropriate to put that as a proposed use under the new zoning.”

Another building type is the midrise podium tower, a type of building with a base that becomes more slender as it builds into a tower. The midrise podium would have a minimum of four stories and no maximum stories. The Somernova plan proposes a maximum building height of 16 stories that includes two of mechanicals such as air conditioning and heating equipment. 

The third building type is a block building with a three- to six-story “podium” section and a  tower; this use would have no maximum height. 

The final “flex commercial” building type is new to Somerville’s zoning code but similar to one in the city’s “fabrication” zoning districts. These buildings would feature “high floor-to-floor heights, expansive windows, wide corridors, service elevators and multiple loading docks,” which mirrors the language used to describe fab district buildings.

A coalition of artists concerned about the 10-year project has a slogan – “Don’t F with Fab” – referring to fears it will undo the fabrication-focused zoning introduced just four years ago.

More details

The buildings would require a master plan special permit to move forward; Somernova seeks to somewhat streamline the process by waiving the requirement for an Urban Design Framework required for most overlays, including the nearby Union Square. 

Should the zoning pass, the proposed development would take place in three phases over 10 years, starting with the community center and research and development building on Tyler Street. Phase 2 would consist of a redevelopment of Park Street and a nine-story building that would include Aeronaut Brewing; Phase 3 would include a microforest and a redevelopment of Dane Street, as well as more space for lab buildings.

The proposed 1.9 million square foot campus would include 1.1 million square feet of research and development uses; 333,000 square feet of office space; 77,000 square feet of arts and creative enterprise space, 84,200 square feet of retail space; and 80,000 square feet of open space.

Vehicle parking in the current plan is marked “TBD,” likely in response to neighbor concerns of the originally proposed 1,252 spaces, while bike parking has increased to “400-plus” indoor spaces from 292. The plan includes the planting of more than 100 trees. 

Somernova is “considering creating and operating a publicly accessible shuttle” that would run north-south from Somerville’s Broadway to the Somernova campus. 

According to Somernova’s presentation, the tax revenue under the new overlay would be $388 million over 20 years, increasing from $15.4 million under the current zoning. Meanwhile, the Affordable Housing Trust linkage fee would increase to $41.5 million, a stark increase from the original plan presented in October that pledged $27.9 million – while the Jobs Creation and Retention Trust Fund linkage would increase to $5.5 million from $3.5 million. 

More than half of the jobs created by the project – 6,020 – would be temporary construction jobs, but another 5,850 would be permanent.

Resident response 

Most of the proposed area sits in a current fab zoning district, which refers to areas that are typically converted factories and set aside for new commercial development. The district is designed to encourage manufacturing and the arts. 

Most of the 24 written public comments about the project take issue with the incursion this expansion represents on fab districts. Members of the #ArtStaysHere Coalition said letting Somernova change zoning to this extent would set a bad precedent for the city.

“Somerville constituents went to great effort in 2019 to introduce the Fabrication Zone, specifically to protect the handful of industrial/warehouse buildings that still exist in Somerville. Regionally, only Somerville has this amazing unsung hero of a zoning rule that protects the arts and creative economy that takes place in these few buildings,” the letter said. 

A Medium post by local policy watcher Chris Dwan echoed these sentiments, saying the area is “the core of the largest contiguous fab area in the city, one of only three that could meaningfully be called a ‘district.’”

Other nearby residents expressed concern with high-rise building construction near their homes, and the length of construction and issues this will pose for health and noise.“The abutters will be directly impacted by the construction and scale of the proposed development. Their concerns regarding noise, disruption and changes to the neighborhood’s character must be carefully considered,” Mark Edmonds wrote.

Ward 2 councilor J.T. Scott, whose represents the area of the proposed developments, noted that “there is a long way to go on this … I just want to assure everybody in the community we are listening and I am doing everything I can to ensure that everybody’s voice gets part of this conversation.”

City Council president Ben Ewen-Campen noted that the proposal would be a large undertaking for the body: “I have no doubt that this is going to be one of the most kind of central things that we’re working on over the next several months.”

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