Site critical for redevelopment of Brickbottom
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Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone has sent an official letter to Waste Management of Massachusetts, Inc. that the City intends to terminate the sanitation company’s lease at 10 Poplar Street effective October 1, 2012.

Waste Management operates a trash transfer station at the Brickbottom location, just off of McGrath Highway. During the late 20^th century, the site operated for decades as a trash incineration facility, which spewed ash into the air, causing its surrounding neighborhoods to all but disappear.

“We aim to reclaim the Brickbottom and this is an essential step to making that happen,” Curtatone said. “With the Green Line extension slated to go through this part of the city, we have the opportunity to redevelop this area along with the Inner Belt, Union Square and Boynton Yards. This represents an opportunity to build a new gateway to the city, to create thousands of new jobs, to build new housing, and to bolster local tax revenues to support our schools and other City programs.”

During his January mid-term state of the city address, the Mayor publicly announced his intention to serve the one-year notice. In 2006, the City conducted a study that determined there is no suitable relocation site for the facility in Somerville.

“The reality is no one is going to want to locate a new corporate headquarters or new housing or a new restaurant right next to a trash handling facility” he said. “It is an incompatible use with our overall vision for this area. This is some of the best-located property in our urban region, but it has remained dormant and undervalued because we have not moved completely beyond the dirty industrial legacy that caused the Brickbottom to deteriorate. That is all about to change.”

Ward 2 Alderman Maryann Heuston welcomed news of the impending closure of the transfer station and the possibility of redeveloping the 91,616 square foot lot on which it sits.

“When you put this together with the Green Line extension and the de-elevation of McGrath Highway, suddenly you can form a mental picture of how the Brickbottom can be transformed,” she said. “Poplar Street, Linwood Street and Chestnut Street were named after the trees that used to grow in the Brickbottom. I look forward to seeing a day when trees once again line those streets.”

Ward 1 Alderman Bill Roche represents the Inner Belt area, which borders the Brickbottom.

“The entire eastern section of the city represents an opportunity zone for Somerville,” he said. “It is the economic engine that is going to help pull this city forward through most of this century.”

Alderman-at-Large William White grew up near the Brickbottom and recalls what it was like when the incinerator was in operation.

“At times it was like it was snowing,” he said. “The pollution chased away entire neighborhoods. It will give me great satisfaction to help bring back those neighborhoods.”

Waste Management operates its facility pursuant to a lease signed November 22, 2005. A 2009 amendment to the lease gave the City the right to give a one-year notice of its intention to end the lease agreement.