It’s Christmas time in November for elders, Assembly Square
By George P. Hassett and Andrea Gregory

Hundreds of shoppers normally don’t crowd into Assembly Square at 8 a.m., but Tuesday Nov.1 was different. The Christmas Tree Shop held a special sneak preview for the elderly citizens of Somerville.
  “I have a little soft spot for seniors,” said Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone. “I think they knew the construction schedule better than I did.”
The Christmas Tree Shop was the first store in the new Assembly Square mall to open. Before Christmas, three more stores – TJ Maxx, Bed Bath and Beyond and Staples – are scheduled to open. Shortly after, Sports Authority and AC Moore will complete the project.

   Curtatone sliced the red and green ribbon with a pair of oversized scissors just before 10 a.m., when the general public was invited in. The store was filled with yummy aromas and holiday scents. And cashiers were kept busy by the stores first customers.
   Stephen Rondeau, store manager, said it was not just the shoppers experiencing a warm welcome. He said Somerville has been a destination the Christmas Tree Shop has been after for close to a decade.
    “The Christmas Tree Shop has been dying to get into this area,” said Rondeau. “This is an awesome area. We are thrilled to be the first to open here.”
     The opening of the store is a good beginning for the new plan at Assembly Square but there is still a lot of work to be done, said Alderman-at-Large William A. White.
    “The opening was a good first step but it is going to be a long road to success. This is the first of three stages. Next stage is the construction of Main Street and third will be the installation of a T stop and the development of Yard 21.
     White said work on the development of a new Main Street is slated to begin in two years.
Yard 21 is the area where Good Time Billiards currently is and where an MBTA station has been proposed to go. When developed, Yard 21 is expected to feature dense residential and office space with retail business on the first floor.
      But these plans are all contingent on the appearance of an Orange Line station at Assembly Square and that is not yet a solid plan, said White.
      “The real influx of money will not come until a T stop is firmly on its way to Assembly Square and there is nothing to indicate that is the case at this point,” he said.