Even More Development Could Be in Store for Assembly Square

The booming Somerville neighborhood could be adding another million square feet of new space.

Assembly Square Station

The ‘Welcome’ sign tells a little Somerville history. / Photo by Steve Annear

More development is in the works for the growing Assembly Square neighborhood in Somerville.

The old Lowes Assembly Square Cinemas, once the largest multi-screen cinema complex in New England, is now nothing more than a vacant lot but it could soon be the site of a new million-plus square foot real estate development complete with offices, labs, retail, residences, and even a hotel.

The Globe reported on Monday that Somerville Office Associates is looking to capitalize on the development around the parcel that they have owned since the 1970s. The company has not formally filed any plans with the city but they are currently batting around some concepts for their nine-acre parcel that includes an active four-story office building. The long dormant cinema formally located on the parcel was demolished last year.

Their development could fit in nicely with Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone’s hopes of building out the bulk of the massive Assembly Square area into Somerville’s newest and hottest neighborhood. Curtatone said as recently as December that he hopes to expand Assembly Square even more by building in areas that have not been planned or zoned for development.

The former site of the Assembly Square Mall is now a mix of sprawlish suburban-style big-box stores, lagoon-like parking lots, a new Orange Line station and a newish but more traditional mixed-use urban neighborhood. The up-and-coming project is bordered by a roaring Interstate 93 and a questionable to swim in the Mystic River.

Four blocks of the Assembly Row project are built out but there is still more to come: a new 1.1 million square foot Partners HealthCare complex is rising next to the Orange Line station, the largest building of which is slated to top out at 230 feet tall, roughly 13 stories of office and retail space.