Dickerman Park final plan.

By Andrew Firestone

After years in the planning, 2011 will see Somerville receiving a major facelift as several major development projects, both public and private, are scheduled to begin. From East Somerville to Davis Square, roads will be repaved, homes will be erected, and the long awaited Assembly Square project is projected to finally break ground.

Among the major public projects is an overhaul of Broadway through East Somerville. Currently at 75 percent design phase, the city hopes to take the street down to single lane traffic, while adding bike lanes and wider sidewalks, which would also include adding additional lights to the area. Private funding for the project will come from Stop & Shop, as well as the Federal Realty Investment Trust in connection with their Assembly Square project.

Nearby, two other major development projects are being reviewed. At 230 Somerville Avenue, the first development under the new CCD-55 zoning laws of Union Square are set to go before the Mayor’s Strategic Planning and Community Development Committee for 30 new residential units and 6,500 square feet of retail space. At 130 Broadway, there is a proposal for the old Melotone building to be converted into 18,000 square feet for retail and commercial enterprise. Both project approvals are pending.

With the passing of the Development Innovation Fund (DIF) championed by the Mayor by the Board of Aldermen, funding for the proposed Orange Line train station in Assembly Square is moving into 100 percent design. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation is expected to finish development of infrastructure this year, setting the stage for FRIT to begin construction of the massive Assembly Square project.

Morse-Kelley park final plan.

The increase in major development is due in part to Mayor Joe Curtatone’s aim to encourage the addition of businesses and better flow to the city, said Michael Meehan, the city’s spokesman. “The goal of this administration has been to invest in the infrastructure of the city, make the streetscape changes, manage traffic flows, bring the T in, first the Orange Line then the Green Line comes in after that,” said Meehan.

City officials are hoping the new commercial activity will ease the tax burden of   residential property owners, who pay the majority of the city maintenance due to the large amount of land in Somerville currently tax free. “We hope it reflects the values the community has for itself,” said Meehan.

Other private development include the Maxpak site, where 15 of the 199 approved residential units have begun construction, with the rest likely beginning in spring. The Mystic Avenue St. Polycarp project will bring 29 new residential units of affordable housing to the city in a parcel of land developed by the Somerville Community Corporation.

Other standard housing units under construction will be at 79-83 Broadway, where Mudflat studios is renovating the abandoned Broadway Theater into their pottery school, a new insurance office at the vacant lot at the Broadway fire station, nine new residential units next to the former health club, Curves, by Cedar Street, 17 new townhouses at 26 Weston Avenue near Teale Square designed to match those developed a decade ago next door, and a conversion of the industrial area on Fellsway to 19 residential units.

Additionally, the following streets will be reconstructed: Curtis Street, Irving Street, Lexington Avenue, Willow Avenue, Temple Street, Fellsway West, Skilton Avenue, Medford Street from McGrath Highway to the railroad bridge. Maguon Square will be repaved, and Beacon Street will be redesigned.

Ten miles of planned bike lanes will be added likely on Somerville Avenue running east from Union Square and Broadway. The Board of Aldermen plans to accept grants for the Morse-Kelly and Dickerman parks this Thursday, with construction planned for July.

Finally, the Green Line extension inches forward as station design continues, and questions to determine a Route 16 terminal for the propose line are discussed. Cooperatively, the community path extension viewed as a tandem to the T extension, will be bid in the fall, for the Ceder Street to Lowell Street portion, with design for the Lowell Street to Inner Belt portion underway.