Somerville Seeks New Location For Public Safety Building

SOMERVILLE, MA – Somerville officials on Thursday moved forward with efforts to relocate the Somerville Police Department headquarters and the Somerville Fire Department Engine 3. Mayor Joseph Curtatone submitted requests to the board of aldermen to acquire land at 90 Washington St., the former site of the Cobble Hill Shopping Center, which has been vacant since 2014.

"We have long recognized that the current Public Safety Building does not adequately serve the needs of our police and fire departments," Mayor Curtatone said in a statement. "The City has taken a strategic approach to evaluating parcels throughout the City, and it is time for a public safety building that better serves our public safety staff and our residents."

The current public safety headquarters at 220 Washington St. has been in use since 1985. Prior to that, it served as a car barn for the MBTA and was never designed to serve as a public safety building. Recent issues include severe flooding, which displaced some essential city services.

The city began planning for the relocation of a public safety facility in 2016. Assessors determined the new building would need at least 77,000 square feet of space and a floor plate of at least 30,000 square feet. A number of suitable locations were identified, but 90 Washington St. was selected based on its proximity to Union Square, East Somerville and anticipated future developments in Brickbottom, Boynton Yards and the Inner Belt.

Somerville is proposing an energy efficient and electricity-only building to abide by its goal of being carbon-neutral by 2050.

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