(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)

Over the past few years, many ideas and plans have been put forward by the City regarding major public and civic buildings in Somerville. This has often involved moving buildings to or from Union Square, yet planning for this has not yet been a significant part of the Neighborhood (Master) Plan currently being created for Union Square. Union Square Neighbors asks that the City’s plans for major public and civic buildings be clarified and that the Neighborhood Plan include planning for public and civic buildings in Union Square.

Recently Union Square Neighbors held a round table discussion attended by the Director of the Somerville Public Library, members of the Library Board of Trustees and the director of SCATV where we discuss their plans and thoughts about Union Square and future facilities for those organizations.

We heard that the current central library building is inadequate to provide the services that a modern library aspires to provide for Somerville’s current population, let alone for the thousands of new residents who will occupy the thousands of new housing units expected to be built in the city. Architectural plans produced in the late 1990s for an expansion of the existing central library building are outdated, and a 2012 plan to build a new central library building in Union Square is no longer being actively pursued. The $18 million in state funding that was awarded to this project has expired and the city would need to submit a new plan to receive state funding for a new library building. We also heard that other uses are being considered for the city-owned SCATV building, and SCATV anticipates being moved to a different location which has not yet been determined.

Both organizations expressed an interest in being part of Union Square in the future, and while it is not yet clear what the right outcome or location is for either organization, we believe planning for this and other civic buildings needs to be incorporated into the Neighborhood Plan.

In order to accomplish this, we ask that the City prepare a long term capital projects plan. Most of Somerville’s major public buildings, including the Central Library, Somerville High School, the Public Safety Building, and the Recreation Building are in need of significant capital investment for renovations or replacement with a new building. Given Somerville’s limited financial capacity and limited number of buildable sites, each one of these projects has the potential to impact the viability of the others. While Somerville’s Capital Improvements Plan for FY ’14-’18 identifies these needs, it does not include scenarios that would address them. A long term strategy and prioritization of Somerville’s public and civic building needs is essential to understanding what can reasonably be done and what is right for Somerville and Union Square over the next 15 years.

Additionally, we ask the City to address and integrate plans for public and civic buildings into the Union Square Neighborhood Plan. Public and civic spaces are an essential component of a strong neighborhood and commercial center. With millions of square feet of development being planned – two or three times more than what exists in all of Union Square today – this is an opportunity to address existing needs while identifying our aspirations for the future. The Plan should address not only future city-owned civic buildings, but the potential for publically accessible spaces in private developments as well.

We believe there is an immediate need for a public community room in Union Square. Longer term, the potential for public/private partnerships with US2 or other developers to build a library and/or other type of community center should be explored. A community center could support a number of uses included teen and children’s programs, recreation, community meeting space, a community policing office, Wi-Fi access, etc.

Among the most persistent criticisms of other recently built districts around greater Boston, such as the Seaport, has been a lack of planning for the schools, libraries, community centers and other civic buildings that make a place more than a district, but a neighborhood. Strong communities are networks of green spaces, schools, cultural attractions, businesses and homes; and libraries, community centers or other civic buildings are hubs within them. We look forward to seeing all these components addressed in a complete Neighborhood Plan and integrated into US2’s redevelopment plan.

Union Square Neighbors looks forward to continuing to work through the neighborhood planning process in the months and years to come to help ensure the realization of the vision we have spent years establishing, to make Union Square an even better place to live, work and raise a family.

Sincerely,
Tim Talun, Chairperson
Union Square Neighbors