By Joseph A. Curtatone

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

After months of public meetings, presentations, community feedback and visits to projects across the country, we took our first big step in Union Square. In June, the Somerville Redevelopment Authority selected US2 to undertake perhaps the most important and most sensitive project in Somerville—the revitalization of key properties in Union Square that will complement this historic neighborhood—while realizing our vision of more jobs, more housing with a range of affordability, and more green space. I want to thank the Union Square Civic Advisory Committee, the Redevelopment Authority, city staff and every community member who provided insight and thoughtful critiques over the past six months. But that was just the first step. We need that insightful participation to continue.

In the coming weeks, US2 will schedule a kickoff event in the square and lay out a 100-day plan that will launch this project. A major component of the next 100 days—and beyond—must include community engagement if we are to realize our collective goals for Union Square.

Fortunately, US2 has already demonstrated a commitment to community engagement from the start of the master developer selection process. When the Redevelopment Authority first began receiving applications for a Union Square master developer partner in January, US2 may have been the biggest mystery among the firms that applied, but their team quickly turned that around. As noted in both the CAC’s report and a city staff report, the US2 team had a notable presence on the ground in Somerville, including top executives from Magellan Development and senior real estate personnel from Mesirow Financial, the two firms that partnered to form US2.

They have reached out to the community, solicited as much feedback as possible and taken the time to truly understand Union Square’s unique character and challenges. The ‘early activation’ strategy that US2 sketched out during this process demonstrates that they get what Union Square is today—a place where creativity flourishes among innovators, makers and artists in a neighborhood made vibrant through local businesses and the diversity of its residents. They also made the commitment early on to have a full-time project manager in Somerville, have a US2 principal establish a home here, and to open a local office in the heart of Union Square.

This kind of hands-on approach from US2’s top officials and open door policy has been gratifying to see, because in Somerville, we’ve seen how an inclusive, engaged approach yields the best results. It’s also gratifying to see because we have made it clear in the request for qualifications that solicited master developer partner applications that we expect community engagement and public participation to be an integral part of the revitalization of Union Square. The CAC is a huge part of that. We took care to ensure that the community members, advocates and Union Square business owners who serve on this committee provide a wide-range of skill sets and perspectives, and can both represent the community in an official capacity, providing a sounding board for US2’s ideas and proposals, and serve as an additional forum for public input beyond public participation at Redevelopment Authority and city board meetings.

Community engagement is how we got here in the first place. We are on the cusp of a project that can provide us with tremendous benefits including the ability to manage the market forces that would have changed the face of Union Square even without this plan. We developed SomerVision through an intensive two-year community process that asked not what we want to build in Union Square and across the city but who we want to be—a city that capitalizes on our economic potential without losing our soul. SomerVision followed the 2009 community-driven rezoning of Union Square, a process that codified the community’s desire to realize more jobs and more housing in the neighborhood by capitalizing on key underutilized properties. Now that community-driven work will continue as we take the hopes and dreams laid out in SomerVision, the framework created through our rezoning, and apply it to a tangible, physical product.

This work needs to coordinate with the MBTA’s schedule for the coming Green Line station, and with Parsons Brinkerhoff for the in-depth roadway and infrastructure improvement plan for Union Square. Part of US2’s 100-day plan will be jumpstarting the master planning process so that the schedules coordinate. But every step of the way, the community will be involved.

Market forces have been changing Greater Boston, and sometimes only to benefit a developer’s bottom line, regardless of community impact. We have bigger ideas in Somerville. We know that starting with the community’s goals, rather than the market’s goals, we can realize more jobs and economic growth, more homes with a range of affordability, a more walkable and bikeable square with more public green space, while still preserving Union Square’s soul and identity. Managing this change means starting with you—your ideas, your feedback and your vision. So I ask you to commit now to take part. I can’t wait to see what we envision next.