Here's Something You Don't See Very Often in Somerville

(Image courtesy of Maxwell’s Green.)

Maxwell’s Green, a new LEED-certified apartment complex in Somerville, does more than put in some low-flow toilets and bamboo flooring and slap on the “green” marketing label. Situated along the community bike path, about a mile outside of Davis Square upon a former Brownfield site that once housed a manufacturing plant, the development team — led by Davis Square Partners — has invested significant resources to reclaim the once blighted spot. So, it is eco-friendly from the ground up, taking advantage of the bike path proximity with underground bicycle storage. There is also garage parking with electric car charging stations. Someday, the Green Line extension may actually be complete, which would result in a Lowell Street station in a the heart of Somerville, albeit not as accessible as Davis or Porter Squares.

Anticipating the groundbreaking last April, Somerville mayor Joseph Curtatone said: “It will officially start an era of transit-oriented development in Somerville. Projects like this allow us to fix the broken links in our neighborhoods, and they generate more activity for the businesses in our city squares.”

We are told that amenities of the community will include an onsite yoga studio, fitness center, club suite, and WiFi networking café and lounge, along with outdoor green space, and a roof deck. Ultimately, there are 184 LEED Certified and Certifiable units planned, including studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom flats, and three-bedroom townhomes. There will be 24 units of affordable housing. The project was designed by the Boston firm ICON Architecture. Leasings are available now for occupancy this summer.

The developers are ambitious in their plan for making this a vital lifestyle-oriented community, with outreach to local yoga instructors, chefs, and fitness instructors to offer regular on-site classes. Sounds like Portlandia, “where young people go to retire.”  How come this wasn’t available when I was living in Somerville back in the immediate run-up to the “Paris on the Nineties” days?