IKEA applies for Assembly Square store

Activists ask for jobs commitment and improved traffic patterns

By George P. Hassett

Local activists urged Swedish furniture retailer IKEA to guarantee jobs for city residents and improve traffic patterns for their Assembly Square store at a public hearing Sept. 4.

Assembly Square developers Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRIT) applied for permits last Tuesday to begin construction on a new IKEA and an accompanying roadway in Assembly Square, described by IKEA officials as “the backbone of the entire development.”

The development at Assembly Square will bring in $15 million in new taxes for the city and provide 14,000 new jobs when fully built out, according to FRIT Vice President of Northeast Development Bob Walsh.

The first phase of the build out is a new IKEA. The planning board will decide to issue permits in the next 60 days and construction will then begin within a few months, said Wig Zamore of the Mystic View Task Force (MVTF).

At the Sept. 4 hearing MVTF members said IKEA’s traffic plans for the site were overly optimistic. And with just one lane in the upcoming Assembly Square Drive, traffic to and from the store could choke surrounding small businesses in East Somerville, they said.

“What happens if there is so much traffic [from IKEA] that people avoid the entire area on Saturdays? What happens to the city’s tax base then? Will the city be paralyzed? Will the existing merchants be victims of this traffic?” said Don Stiehl.

Patrick Dunford, the traffic engineer who conducted the IKEA study, said the store will generate traffic during the weekend. He said that was a benefit because it would not add to the burden of the normal commuting flow on weekdays.

However, Ellen Reisner, of East Somerville said the weekends are one of the few times when her neighborhood is given a reprieve from constant traffic jams and gridlock.

“Weekends are our only relief from air pollution in our neighborhood,” she said. “As it is now, we can’t open our windows facing Route 93 or spend too much time outside.”

East Somerville Main Streets Executive Director Carrie Dancey also expressed concern that traffic from IKEA could hurt small businesses on nearby lower Broadway.

"We’re trying to encourage pedestrian shopping, but we can’t do that if there are huge traffic back ups and congestion,” she said.

At the meeting, neighborhood activists also asked the planning board to require IKEA to give preference to Somerville residents when hiring for the new store.

“I know we can find employees in Somerville who share IKEA’s values. We would like to see folks in East Somerville walking to their new jobs at IKEA when IKEA opens,” he said.         

Comments

[pick]

I would like to know who owns that truck on hollan st in front of the senior tuffts house with the mayors signs ? Has it ever been ticketed for street cleaning or 48 hours,I would like to see the records the last three years on tickets.If no tickets were issue than someone should be fired.

[PersonDavis]

I agree. It looks campy and ridiculous. I thought the parking rules meant that a vehicle was to remain active for use even if its parked in a place for a period of time. That thing looks like an abandoned building with bills posted all over it. Usually, whoevers name or sign I see on it I make sure to not vote if they're a Ward 6 candidate. I don't like to encourage that sort of thing. We got enough billboards and signs as it is.

[Solh Zendeh]

Can someone tell me where to find the current layout or plans for this development online? I know I've seen them before, but I cannot find them now.

Thanks!

[Bill Shelton]

Person Davis,

I'm guessing that most of our readers think that you are a person who lives near Davis Square. Would you edify them with an explanation of who the original Person Davis was?

Sohl,

The broad plans for development at Assembly Square are at http://www.somervillema.gov/section.cfm?org=ECONDEVEL&page=1026
The more recent and more specific plans for IKEA have not yet been posted. You can look at them at the 3rd floor of city hall.

[pick]

Davis was than,not now.The times they are a changing .
Dylan

[Mateus]

Wow, I live around the corner from Assembly Square. The thought of being able to walk over to IKEA and finding house stuff beyond my favorite Bed Bath and Beyond over there is very appealing, however, the thought of traffic jams and people from out of the area crowding up our streets...
This is going to be insane if the MBTA ever finalizes its plans to put another T station on the Orange Line there. Especially, during the years long construction that will take.