The scheduling of special events by groups such as Groundwork Somerville was one issue addressed by the Somerville Redevelopment Authority at its recent meeting.

By Maeve Lawler

On Wednesday evening, the Somerville Redevelopment Authority (SRA) held a public meeting via remote participation to discuss upcoming events hosted by Groundwork Somerville, as well as development updates for Washington Street, Union Square, Boynton Yards, Assembly Square, and Winter Hill.

The meeting was facilitated by Phil Ercolini, the Chair of the SRA. Ercolini was joined by four other Board Members, with one being absent. Members of the city staff Tom Galligani, Director of Economic Development, and Eileen McGettigan, Special Counsel to the SRA were also present.

The meeting began with Alexandra Lennon-Simon, the Executive Director of Groundwork Somerville, seeking approval to hold several summer events in which alcohol will be served. Simon explained the alcohol will be served in partnership with Portico Brewing. The events include “our gala, in addition to a few small concerts and other events on-site,” said Simon.

During this discussion, McGettigan expressed her frustrations with Groundwork’s approach to getting permission to hold events that are not farm-related.

“I’ve been here for almost ten years and I’m tired of the Groundhog Day that happens every time Groundwork Somerville decides to hold an alcohol event on a property that we own,” said McGettigan.

She adds, “I think it’s important that Groundwork realize that they have a landlord. It is the Redevelopment Authority, and whenever they want to do something that isn’t farm-related, like have an alcohol event, or have a concert, or have anything that requires any kind of permit from the city, they need to come to us first as their landlord.”

Although McGettingan appreciates the work from the organization, she would like their relationship with the SRA to be better respected. These frustrations prompted her to develop a new license agreement, which the SRA voted to approve during their meeting. Chair Ercolini said that McGettingan’s concerns have also come up in the past.

McGettigan summarized the agreement as saying, “Groundwork, whenever you need something from another city board, you need to come to [the SRA] first,” she said.

The license agreement will operate on a month-to-month basis, and also includes a provision that Groundwork needs to appear at SRA’s meetings twice per year, before and after the growing season, to tell the SRA what events they plan to hold and after how successful these events were. The agreement also requires the SRA have a minimum number of access hours posted for the public to come to the property.

In regard to Groundwork’s upcoming alcohol events, McGettigan emphasizes to the SRA that Groundwork has its alcohol permit from the city; however, it is conditioned on the SRA approval of such events. She also said it is important for the SRA to be listed as additionally insured on the SRA’s insurance forms.

Simon clarified that the SRA is listed as additionally ensured and apologized for coming to the SRA after receiving their alcohol permit from the city, as opposed to before. All members of the SRA present at the meeting approved for Groundwork to hold their upcoming events and approved the license agreement.

The next item on the agenda was an update on the development in Union Square and Boynton Yards given by Rachel Nadkarni, an Urban Revitalization Specialist for Somerville. Most buildings in the areas are still in the master plan stage. Buildings in construction include a Life Sciences building at 495 Columbia, a mid-rise residential building and lab building on Prospect Street, and smaller buildings for retail and residential use on Somerville Ave and Bow Street.

Next, an update was given on the development in Assembly Square given by Ted Fields, a Senior Economic Development planner for Somerville. Most buildings in Assembly Row are completed, with several buildings in the area either under construction or in the master plan stage. Some of the buildings in the master plan stage will be used for bio purposes or be residential buildings.

Nadkarni also gave an update on Winter Hill, in which she explained the Civic Advisory Committee is meeting monthly to discuss construction updates in this area.

After discussing the SRA’s summer meeting schedule, Fields gave an update on the potential redevelopment of 90 Washington Street. He explained that meetings will be held for Cobble Hill residents to voice their concerns over the development of the site. After these discussions, a public engagement process will take place to ask their opinions about the “height, scale, massing of potential buildings on the Washington Street development site,” Fields said.

The meeting concluded with a vote to close the open session and move into an executive session to discuss the litigation strategy for Cobble Hill Center LLC v. SRA.