90 Washington Street Redevelopment
Get Involved!
Thanks for visiting the 90 Washington Street project page! If you're new here, please take a look at this narrative and reference material - previous public meetings, Building Committee meetings, and the FAQ's are a good place to start. We have two of the same meetings coming up, join us! They are listening sessions, after a brief remarks, the majority of the meeting will be spent hearing from community members about their thoughts and concerns about the 90 Washington Street project.
Tuesday, June 28th at 6:00
East Somerville Community School
50 Cross Street
The meeting will be either in the Auditorium or the Basketball courts under tents pending weather and COVID-19 numbers. Look for signs when you arrive.
Wednesday, June 29th at 6:00
Virtual, register here.
Project Information
The Capital Projects and Economic Development divisions are working together to implement a community vision for 90 Washington Street. Capital Projects is managing the development of the new Public Safety Building. Economic Development is overseeing the development of the community vision on the remainder of the site.
Project Site
The 90 Washington Street site is a 4 acre site a stones throw from the East Somerville GLX station. Based on good urban design principles and PSB project requirements, the site has been subdivided into four areas: the new realignment of New Washington Street, the Washington Street Redevelopment Parcels (Parcels A & C), and the PSB project site, most likely to be on Parcel B.
Project Timeline
Capital Project and Economic Development are working closely to implement the community vision for this site. The PSB project is expected to be completed in 2024. The visioning process for the remainder of the project site started in December '21 and will continue through the first part of 2022. After documentation of the shared vision, Economic Development will quickly pivot to implementation.
Get Involved!
Thanks for visiting the 90 Washington Street project page! If you're new here, please take a look at this narrative and reference material - previous public meetings, Building Committee meetings, and the FAQ's are a good place to start. We have two of the same meetings coming up, join us! They are listening sessions, after a brief remarks, the majority of the meeting will be spent hearing from community members about their thoughts and concerns about the 90 Washington Street project.
Tuesday, June 28th at 6:00
East Somerville Community School
50 Cross Street
The meeting will be either in the Auditorium or the Basketball courts under tents pending weather and COVID-19 numbers. Look for signs when you arrive.
Wednesday, June 29th at 6:00
Virtual, register here.
Project Information
The Capital Projects and Economic Development divisions are working together to implement a community vision for 90 Washington Street. Capital Projects is managing the development of the new Public Safety Building. Economic Development is overseeing the development of the community vision on the remainder of the site.
Project Site
The 90 Washington Street site is a 4 acre site a stones throw from the East Somerville GLX station. Based on good urban design principles and PSB project requirements, the site has been subdivided into four areas: the new realignment of New Washington Street, the Washington Street Redevelopment Parcels (Parcels A & C), and the PSB project site, most likely to be on Parcel B.
Project Timeline
Capital Project and Economic Development are working closely to implement the community vision for this site. The PSB project is expected to be completed in 2024. The visioning process for the remainder of the project site started in December '21 and will continue through the first part of 2022. After documentation of the shared vision, Economic Development will quickly pivot to implementation.
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PSB Schematic Design
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this linkThe PSB has finished the second phase of design called schematic design. The project team has a program for the building which itemizes all the types of spaces that need to be in the building and their square footage and the schematic design phase explores options for how these spaces can be pieced together to form the building. That building has taken shape over schematic design and culminated in the rendering above. The building committee has been critical in helping us inform the design and get the project to the end of this phase.
The PSB will be a new home to police, fire administration, and Engine 3. The 70,0000 square foot building is 4 stories with a 3-level parking garage. The exterior design is intended to look like two buildings, Engine 3 and the fire administration design inspiration is a traditional fire house. The police program and public amenities design inspiration is a modern, open, and transparent building to convey a department that goes beyond protecting and serving but that continues to work with the community to solve complex problems both now and in the future.
There will several community benefits as part of this project – a pocket plaza in the front of the building at the bend in New Washington Street, a community meeting room, and a south facing park fronting the existing alignment of New Washington Street. The community meeting room is placed to be a jewel box on the front of the building overlooking the pocket plaza. There will be new pedestrian and cyclist facilities on New Washington Street and, when the project is complete, this will be one of two new municipal buildings in decades.
In Spring 2022, there will be some work at the site preparing it for construction including soil remidiation and utility trenching for the new roadway. Building construction will start in earnest in later next year and be completed in the Fall of 2024. The next project phase is design development. This is where the chosen design schemes from schematic design get refined and coordinated with structural, mechanical, and electrical systems. At this time, the project is taking a pause to check in with the community on December 13th at a community meeting. We will review the decisions made thus far and get feedback from the community at the meeting.
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PSB Project Goals
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this linkThe public safety building project goals are:
- Deliver a modern building that can change and adapt to policing and fire administration day-to-day operations over the course of generations
- Help us achieve Somerville’s sustainability goals by being net zero ready
- Use design to be welcoming to all members of the community
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90 Washington Street Project History
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this linkThe SPD and Engine 3 moved into the current public safety facility at 220 Washington Street in the 1980’s. It was a former MBTA bus barn that the city acquired from the state and renovated for the use. Forty years later and the building is functionally obsolete and requires replacement. The building is inadequate for current public safety operations and, furthermore, has been plagued with structural issues that have led to flooding and leaks.
Knowing the building needed to be replaced, the City included 220 Washington Street in the 2012 Union Square Revitalization Plan which was adopted by the Board of Alderman (now City Council) and Somerville Redevelopment Authority. This designated 220 Washington Street as part of a redevelopment parcel called D1. After an extensive process, the SRA selected US2 as the City’s partner for redevelopment in Union Square. The planning board adopted a neighborhood plan and the subsequent zoning change has culminated in an entitlement at the existing public safety site that includes commercial uses and a publicly accessible park.
To find a new home for public safety, a thorough space needs assessment was conducted and the City initiated a site search process to identify potential sites for a new complex. The 90 Washington Street site was deemed to be the most viable option in Somerville after an analysis that identified six potential sites. The Somerville Redevelopment Authority acted to acquire the site in 2019 using the demonstration project plan approach. A Demonstration Project provides an opportunity to not only eliminate blight, but to meet a public need for a new public safety building and provide the opportunity for economic development at a transformative scale. The Capital Projects and Economic Development divisions are now working together to create a shared community vision for the site that will be the home to a new Public Safety Building and fulfill community needs identified through the public process.
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CM Funding Approved
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this linkThe City Council approved a request for $725,000 for construction manager funding for the Public Safety Building Project on October 28, 2021. This allows the Capital Projects division to hire a construction manager for the project.
Key Dates
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June 28 2022
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June 29 2022
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July 06 2022
Mailing List
Community Meetings
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May 2022
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February 2022
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February 2022 Meeting Video
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February 2022 Community Meeting Presentation (6.06 MB) (pdf)
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February 16 Design Scenarios_English.pdf (60.9 MB) (pdf)
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February 2022 Community Meeting Designs_Spanish.pdf (1.06 MB) (pdf)
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February 2022 Community Meeting Designs_Haitian Creole.pdf (5.31 MB) (pdf)
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February 2022 Community Meeting Designs_Portuguese.pdf (5.32 MB) (pdf)
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February 2022 Community Meeting Designs_Nepali.pdf (5.25 MB) (pdf)
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220223_BreakoutRoomSummaries.pdf (123 KB) (pdf)
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Design Feedback Survey Responses.pdf (348 KB) (pdf)
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Washington Street Design Feedback Survey Total Results.pdf (52.2 KB) (pdf)
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Washington Street Design Feedback Survey Total Results II.pdf (40.6 KB) (pdf)
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December 2021
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March 2021
Building Committee
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Building Committee 2021 Materials
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January 2021 Meeting Video
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January 2021 Meeting Minutes (128 KB) (pdf)
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February 2021 Meeting Video
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February 2021 Meeting Minutes (108 KB) (pdf)
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April 2021 Meeting Presentation (702 KB) (pdf)
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April 2021 Meeting Video
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April 2021 Meeting Minutes (114 KB) (pdf)
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May 2021 Meeting Presentation (709 KB) (pdf)
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May 2021 Meeting Video
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June 2021 Meeting Minutes.pdf (118 KB) (pdf)
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June 2021 Meeting Presentation.pdf (620 KB) (pdf)
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June 2021 Meeting Video
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July 2021 Meeting Presentation.pdf (1020 KB) (pdf)
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July 2021 Meeting Video
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July 2021 Meeting Minutes.pdf (120 KB) (pdf)
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August 2021 Meeting Presentation (11.4 MB) (pdf)
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August 2021 Meeting Video
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August 2021 Meeting Minutes (121 KB) (pdf)
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October 2021 Presentation (621 KB) (pdf)
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October 2021 Meeting Video
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October 2021 Meeting Minutes (126 KB) (pdf)
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November 2021 Meeting Video
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November 2021 Presentation (1.42 MB) (pdf)
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November 2021 Meeting Minutes.pdf (122 KB) (pdf)
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Building Committee 2022 Materials
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January 2021 Meeting Presentation.pdf (345 KB) (pdf)
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January 2022 Meeting Video
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January 2022 Meeting Minutes (107 KB) (pdf)
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February 2022 Meeting Presentation (1.84 MB) (pdf)
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February 2022 Meeting Video
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February 2022 Meeting Minutes.pdf (107 KB) (pdf)
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March 2022 Meeting Presentation.pdf (1.78 MB) (pdf)
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March 2022 Meeting Video
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March 2022 Meeting Minutes (142 KB) (pdf)
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April 2022 Meeting Video
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April 2022 Meeting Presentation.pdf (2.57 MB) (pdf)
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April 2022 Meeting Minutes (140 KB) (pdf)
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June 2022 Meeting Presentation (379 KB) (pdf)
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June 2022 Meeting Video
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Frequently Asked Questions
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FAQ's
- What facilities will be on New Washington Street?
- Why not put the parking underground?
- How was this site selected?
- Why didn’t the site selection consider the Washington Street underpass flooding?
- Do we really need a new building for public safety?
- Why realign New Washington Street?
- Why is the public safety building planning a parking garage?
- How is this building sustainable?
- Some people may not feel comfortable using a park adjacent to the public safety building, can the park go somewhere else on the site?
- How many calls does Engine 3 answer?
- How is siren noise being mitigated?
- Why is the City building a public safety building so close to a train station?
- I’ve heard that public private partnerships could be a way to get the public safety building built for free or reduced cost. Why aren’t we pursuing that option?
- What are some of the design drivers of the PSB program?
- The rendering of the Public Safety Building looks final, can residents really have a say?
- Does this building have a firing range?
- The City is taking away Cobble Hill resident's parking lot, why?
- How many trees will be removed from the site?
- What's the climate impact of this project?
- Can the project include a Safe Consumption Site (SCS?)
- Have a question that wasn’t answered?
Who's Listening
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Capital Projects, Director
Email mwoods@somervillema.gov -
Email tfields@somervillema.gov