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By Denise Provost

People all over town are talking about the 25-story building proposed for Davis Square. The most asked question seems to be, are you for it, or against it? But it seems to me that this question is premature.

We probably all have first reactions to the concept of a 500-apartment high-rise. But whatever these initial feelings, it will help to have more detailed information.

Here are some of the questions I’ve asked myself:

How big is a 25-story building?

Really big, as it turns out. Crane-your-neck big.

Look, for instance, at Somerville’s Clarendon Hill Towers (Broadway at Alewife Brook Parkway). Each of the three residential buildings in that complex is 12 stories tall.  Stack two of them, you’ll get 24 floors.

That’s basically the same height as the 25-story building proposed for Davis Square. A building of that size qualifies as a high-rise, a category of structures from 12 to 39 floors.

Are there other buildings of this size in Somerville?

Nearby residential buildings of this size include:

• Somerville’s tallest building, the “Prospect Union Square.” It’s visible from quite a distance. 314 of its 450 apartments are in its 25-story tower, 136 more in an adjacent midrise building.
• The highest building at Assembly Square is the 24-story “Miscela at Assembly Row.” As with the Union Square complex, not all its 500 units are in the tower.
• In Cambridge, the residential “Proto Kendall Square” building has 500 units in 22 stories.

How did these high-rise buildings get built?

Looking at these new high-rise buildings, one wonders – how did their developers find the land to build them on? Big lots are hard to find in urban areas. Large projects typically need vacant land – which often has to be made vacant through demolition.

As it happens, all three high-rises mentioned above stand on land taken by eminent domain through the urban renewal process.

“Prospect Union Square” sits on two former junkyards – Kiley Barrel, and A-1 Plumbing (memorable for its display of used radiators). This land became available for development through the Union Square Urban Renewal Plan. The redevelopment of Assembly Square and Kendall Square also came about through the urban renewal process.

I’m not suggesting that Davis Square is likely to become an urban renewal area. That process starts with a declaration that an area is “blighted.” It just happens that urban land for large developments is often acquired this way.

What else is there to consider about this proposal?

The height and bulk of the 25-story high-rise proposed for Davis Square raises more questions, such as:

• What is the size and shape of the building’s footprint? We ought to have the chance to see this land area outlined in bright marker on a map of Davis Square, if not spray painted in the square itself.
• How big are the cranes that will be needed to construct a 25-story building? Where will they be located, and for how long?
• Will the developer want to construct lower rise buildings next to it, as some other such projects have been designed?
• Will the developer want to acquire adjacent land in the square as part of this project?
• Don’t we need to visualize how a large-scale tower will fit into small-scale Davis Square? Wikipedia describes Davis Square not as a business district but as a “major intersection.” Can the developer show us photos or videos of comparable towers fitting into small business districts in other MA cities?

The public meeting about the proposed “Copper Mill” development will take place on Wednesday, February 12, at 6 p.m. at the Somerville Community Baptist Church, 31  College Avenue. I’m sure that other questions will come up at the meeting.

(Note: all the information in this piece comes from publicly available sources, mainly developer/owners/marketers, municipalities, and other permitting authorities.)

Attorney Denise Provost joined the City of Somerville’s Law Department in 1984, and entered private practice in 1990. She served as Alderman at Large from 2000 to 2006, and as State Representative for Somerville’s 27th Middlesex District from 2006 to 2021.