City Entertains Two Plans for Yard 21

SOMERVILLE, MA-With the deadline for submissions passed, the city has received two proposals to develop Yard 21, the 9.2-acre city-owned vacant parcel at Assembly Square.

One of the proposals is from a joint venture of Taurus New England and Gravestar, which owns the 145-acre Assembly Square Mall as well a number of smaller properties at the site. Two of the parcels are adjacent to Yard 21 and the companies plan to build a 27-acre mixed-use project on three lots. The plan includes office, residential, retail and entertainment space and a various public spaces. The venture would also fund the design for an MBTA stop here and partly fund the building of the station. Developers emphasized that there would be no big-box retail stores, the specter of which has faced fierce local opposition in this area.