Somerville To Continue Talks Over Star Market Site

SOMERVILLE, MA — The future of the vacant Star Market site on Broadway is still up in the air, but the city has narrowed its plans for the lot down to three possibilities. At a meeting in June, officials polled attendees on three options: wait and see, urban renewal or demonstration project.

The first option, wait and see, is a continuation of the city's strategy over the past 12 years: wait for a developer to make a project work at the site. That received just four votes, the least amount by far.

The second option, urban renewal, involves developing a plan to revitalize decadent, substandard or blighted open areas and to encourage sound growth. This strategy could include additional additional sites in the neighborhood and would require approval from the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development.

In order to get state approval, Somerville would need to show that the open area is blighted and would not be developed by private enterprise alone. The city would also be required to submit a plan that includes financing and a relocation strategy for any businesses or residents on the properties.

This solution received 21 votes at the June meeting.

The third possibility, which received 54 votes, involves developing a demonstration project plan solely for the Star Market block. The key differences between this and an urban renewal plan are that it typically focuses on a single project site and does not need state approval.

Five attendees at the June meeting voted for either urban renewal or a demonstration project plan.

On Tuesday, Dec. 17, Somerville will hold an open house to discuss the site. The meeting will focus on the development of an urban renewal plan, and seek answers to the following questions:

1. Is an urban renewal plan the right path forward for this site?
2. If so, what should the plan look like?

The meeting will take place in the Healey School cafeteria, 5 Meacham St., from 6-7:30 p.m.

The Star Market site has been vacant since the grocery store closed in 2007. In 2013, the city won a lawsuit in Middlesex Land Court that prevented the owner of the site from turning it into an Ocean State Job Lot. A proposal for two buildings at the site of the old Star Market and Rite Aid was presented in May 2018, but those plans have not progressed.

For more information, visit the SomerVoice website or contact Lauren Drago at ldrago@somervillema.gov.