By Marshall Collins

At the June 13 Planning Board meeting, the developers behind the revitalization of Union Square shared their updated vision for open space, which was refined based on feedback from the community over the rigorous 18-month community process.

During the presentation, Greg Karczewski, president of US2, the master developer selected for this project, shared the plans for Union Square’s D2 Block, which were made to significantly increase the amount of open space.  Karczewski shared that the changes were responsive to community feedback, and will help Somerville to advance the goals set out in Somervision.

Karczewski stated that the updated plans do the following on the D2 Block:

• Increase open space to 33,000 square feet Add a new neighborhood park
• Allow for better north-south and east-west connections
• Make the new MBTA stop more accessible
• Offer the potential for even more affordable housing and open space in Union Square

The D2 Block will now feature 33,000 square feet of total Civic Space, an increase of more than 11,000 square feet from what was initially proposed. With these changes, open space now accounts for 35 percent of the site. Karczewski stated that throughout the year and a half long community process, more green space was a consistent community desire. His team returned to the drawing board to understand how they might achieve this objective while still achieving the other project goals to deliver new housing, lab and office space. They determined that by making strategic building footprint reductions they could make proposed open spaces larger while also introducing new open area into the plan. In combination, the resulting streetscapes would exceed area standards and a neighborhood park would be added to the plan, together delivering better connections to the neighborhood.

Karczewski noted that these changes will be key to helping the city realize the goals laid out in Somervision. That plan called for creating and programming a network of vibrant public open spaces and shared use paths throughout the city. The Union Square project will feature landscaped pedestrian plazas, pocket parks, community gardens, new neighborhood parks and more to not only promote healthy living but also foster community recreation and cultural opportunities.

The community had also provided feedback wanting the new MBTA station to be easily accessible. Karczewski stated that these changes he presented help to create a strong connection between Union Square Plaza and the MBTA station. Beyond that, he shared that they plan to create a second neighborhood park away from Prospect Street, responding to community concerns about moving green space away from traffic, and also connecting the MBTA Station to the neighborhood to the east. He noted that an adjacent piece of land to the new park – currently being used by the MBTA for construction – could become an additional 62,000 square feet of open space, with the potential to become fields, which is another community priority.

The reconfiguration of the site may also allow for more flexibility to achieve community goals, such as affordable housing, Karczeski said. His team is discussing the possibility of using a now freed-up parcel to create additional affordable units with Preservation of Affordable Housing, Somerville Community Corporation, and Cambridge Health Alliance.

The updated plans appeared to be well received by the audience and community, and signal that the project is gaining momentum, with the amount of open space and connections to the MBTA being some of the final pieces of feedback from the community that the developers have now addressed. The updated plans followed a recent Planning Board meeting where the City’s fiscal expert Barry Abramson concluded that moving parking underground was not a viable option, and pushing for it could put the entire project in jeopardy. The developers and the Union Square Neighborhood Council recently gave an update on the community benefits package, noting that the two groups are close to reaching an agreement.

The project is awaiting a certificate from the state’s environmental protection agency and a transfer of a key parcel of land from the city of Somerville to move forward, both of which could come this summer.