As a resident, worker and activist in Union Square, Somerville, I am urging my neighbors to vote “no” on Wednesday on the Union Square Neighborhood Council’s proposed deal to allow a developer to build the largest project in Union Square in recent years. This project will raise the rent, worsen the city’s traffic crisis and devastate small businesses.
I am the former secretary and board member of the council. But it doesn’t take special knowledge of urban planning to know that this project will be bad for Somerville.
A community benefits agreement is how the council negotiates with developers to mitigate the harmful effects of development. The current CBA for Rafi Properties’ Somernova project may sound like a win for the neighborhood, but would actually reinforce the city’s most pressing problems.
A development such as this inherently pushes out existing residents. Landlords see these new developments as opportunities to raise the rent of existing residents or sell the building to the highest bidder who will convert the site into luxury condos. A development of this size would not simply affect the street over; it will have a profound impact on the entire neighborhood.
The project, which includes 750 parking spaces, would exacerbate the already debilitating traffic situation in Somerville by clogging the streets with more cars. The proposed community benefits agreement acknowledges that there will be an increase in traffic, up to 18 percent before any remediating process would even begin. The agreement does not address the root cause of our traffic woes: more cars.
Finally, the proposed agreement lacks protections for current and future small businesses. Rafi Properties has already demonstrated hostility toward artists and independent venues by pricing out Artisan’s Asylum, a beloved makerspace, and the agreement offers no protection to stop a tragedy such as that from happening again. Aeronaut Brewing and the Boston Bouldering Project are cherished parts of this community’s social fabric. They and similar businesses are at risk.
Anyone who lives, works or volunteers in the Union Square area, which includes Duck Village, Ward 2, Prospect Hill and Spring Hill, can vote Wednesday. You can find the map here or on the council’s website. Polls are open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Saint Anthony’s, 480 Somerville Ave., Ward 2, Somerville. and online. See the USNC site for online voting details.
Voting no on this version of the proposed agreement does not determine the final fate of the project itself. The US2 agreement was voted down in the first round of that process. A no vote says that we deserve better and we can do better.
Kevin Foster, Walnut Street, Somerville
A stronger
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> “Rafi Properties has already demonstrated hostility toward artists and independent venues by pricing out Artisan’s Asylum”
#ArtStaysHere shared at the May 28 meeting that Artisan’s Asylum wasn’t priced out, they voluntarily left because a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) for a different project enticed them to move & take advantage.
> “Landlords see these new developments as opportunities to raise the rent…”
This isn’t how asking rent prices work. Landlords can set their rent prices as high as they wish, but they do so in the interest of actually having a paying tenant, relative to the quality of their property. I.e., market price!
Empirical research shows that new buildings like these push down rents nearby: https://academic.oup.com/joeg/article-abstract/22/6/1309/6362685?redirectedFrom=fulltext
> “…evidence that within 500 ft, for every 10% increase in the housing stock, rents decrease by 1%…”
Foster makes a number of claims here that are unsupported or only partially supported by facts.
For example, while it is true that this neighborhood is not in a designated “transform” area, that designation doesn’t mean it cannot change at all. Moreover, Foster conveniently ignores that city’s official plan specifically calls for adding a lot of commercial space and jobs in the next 15 years.
The traffic concerns are also off base. There are already proven solutions to handling traffic growth in a city, and none of them require blocking business growth or freezing the city in amber.
As a resident, I am urging my neighbors to vote “yes” on Somernova. This criticism in this Op Ed is not accurate.
The revised Somernova plan and its Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) reflect substantial community input and meaningful compromises.
The project now includes affordable housing, robust support for arts and creative enterprises, and a phased, multi-modal mobility plan to address traffic and car dependency.
By securing legally binding commitments to affordable housing, community spaces, and local arts, the CBA offers protections and investments that would not exist without the development.
Rejecting the current agreement risks losing these hard-won benefits and could leave the area with no new housing or community resources.
I will vote yes and I encourage my fellow residents to join me in supporting this needed development.
Much of what Kevin Foster claims in this editorial is inaccurate.
He argues that landlords will use new housing as an excuse to raise rents, but this is simply not how the housing market works. Increasing the housing supply actually lowers nearby rents.
Somerville needs new housing and commercial space. The Somernova development offers a chance to achieve this in a way that benefits both the community and the city. It would be a mistake to pass up this opportunity.
I will be voting “yes!”