Assembly Square land swap lauded by mayor, questioned by activists
By George P. Hassett

      Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone announced Monday that Assembly Square developer Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRIT) and Swedish furniture retailer IKEA have agreed in principle to swap the land they own with one another. Under the plan, IKEA would move from its currently approved waterfront site to a more inter section of the square now owned by FRIT.
     Curtatone said the deal would open up an additional 16 acres along the Mystic River for open space parkland, housing and office space.

    ‚ÄúThis agreement represents a huge win for the city, and goes a long way toward fulfilling our long-term vision of a thriving, sustainable, pedestrian- and transit-friendly neighborhood on the Assembly Square site,‚Äù Curtatone said.
    The swap links the mixed-use portion of the development with the anticipated Assembly Square Orange Line MBTA station.
    ‚ÄúThis change in the overall Assembly Square plan would represent a real advance in the smart-growth elements of the project,‚Äù said Douglas I. Foy, the former secretary of the Massachusetts Office for Commonwealth Development who, earlier this month, agreed to serve as an unpaid development advisor to the mayor.
    After the swap, nearly 1,300 new housing units and 15,000 new square feet of office development would be added to the development. The plan also includes a proposed 200-room hotel and an additional 230,000 square feet of ground level retail.
    Lawrence Paolella, a member of the Mystic View Task Force ‚Äì a grassroots group dedicated to improving development at Assembly Square — said increased housing units will not help the city‚Äôs fiscal dilemmas.
    ‚ÄúHousing units do not produce jobs, they will be un-affordable for people in Somerville and the taxes they bring in do not cover the costs it takes to maintain more people,‚Äù said Paolella.
    Paolella also pointed out that, after the swap, IKEA will have 30,000 more square feet of Assembly Square.
    ‚ÄúIKEA’s 30,000 square feet of new retail space means hundreds of more car trips a day,‚Äù he said. ‚ÄúThe traffic is going to be unbearable and it’s now a disaster.‚Äù
    In a press release, spokesperson Thomas P. Champion said the greater space is not expected to increase customer traffic and that IKEA and the city plan to promote shuttle bus services and delivery service promotions in order to decrease local traffic.
    Paolella and the Mystic View Task Force said they are holding off on making any specific comments on the new plan until more details emerge.   
   Assembly Square is a 145 acre district surrounded by Interstate 93, rail tracks and the Mystic River. It is closer to downtown Boston than many parts of Boston itself but has long been underutilized as a home to low-rise strip malls, vacant properties and industrial sites. In February, Curtatone said the site is the most important development in the city.