Ikea land swap proposed to end Assembly Sq. stalemate
Store would shift from waterfront
SOMERVILLE -- Landowners in the Assembly Square area are nearing a deal that could break a seven-year stalemate and bring both a new Ikea furniture store and a mixed-use, transit-friendly development to the banks of the Mystic River.
Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and a neighborhood activist yesterday confirmed a proposed land swap between Ikea and
Under the plan, Federal Realty would build more than 3,000 apartments and condominiums, office space, and ground-floor retail space on land Ikea owns, according to Wig Zamore, a member of the neighborhood group that has filed several lawsuits opposing the current Ikea site. Ikea would move to a site behind
The 145-acre Assembly Square district is bounded by I-93, rail tracks, and the Mystic River and encompasses several low-rise strip malls, vacant properties, and industrial sites.
''This plan is a pure embodiment of smart-growth development," Curtatone said. ''We're building a new neighborhood here, a new village."
The proposed land swap in Assembly Square -- once described by the mayor as an ''industrial wasteland" -- comes days after Ikea opened its first area store in Stoughton and a week after the nearly empty Assembly Square mall welcomed its first new tenant, a Christmas Tree Shops.
The proposed deal could help end Ikea's lengthy battle to build a store in Somerville, where various lawsuits by a neighborhood group opposed to ''big-box" development have held up construction in the three years since the city approved the original project. The state's Land Court recently dismissed one case filed by a group called the Mystic View Task Force that appealed the city's issuance of a building permit. Two suits remain that oppose the Ikea development on environmental grounds, including its proximity to the waterfront.
Stephanie Blank, a spokeswoman for Federal Realty Investment Trust of Maryland, said in an e-mail this week that ''until a deal is done, we don't have any comment." She added: ''We should know more in 60 days."
Joseph Roth, an Ikea spokesman, said the Swedish retailer ''is in discussions with folks who have approached us about a solution in Somerville."
Roth said Ikea -- one of the world's largest home furnishings chains -- expected its first store to debut in Somerville, but the delays caused by the lawsuit allowed Stoughton to open first. He said Ikea is still ''committed to Somerville," where it owns 17 acres.
Moving Ikea away from the Mystic River would pretty much eliminate one of the pending lawsuits, Zamore said, but the other case involving traffic, air quality, and health issues would remain.
''The land swap is an interesting exploratory idea, and it still may evolve into something beneficial," he said.
Still, the proposed deal raises new concerns, Zamore said, including traffic issues raised by increasing the retail space, and the potential for lower property tax revenue if less office and research space is built.
Zamore said Federal Realty Investment Trust has shared its plan with members of the Mystic View Task Force over the past three months.
The future of Assembly Square, home to a Ford Motor Co. plant a half-century ago, has vexed city officials and neighbors for years. The mall, which once was anchored by Macy's department store, has been largely abandoned in recent years.
After becoming mayor in 2004, Curtatone pressed for new zoning in Assembly Square that has made it possible for long-stalled redevelopment plans to move forward.
Curtatone declined to provide details on the proposed land swap, saying it is a private negotiation between Ikea and Federal Realty. But, he added, ''It would be a better development if it were to happen."
Jenn Abelson can be reached at abelson@globe.com. Thomas C. Palmer Jr. of the Globe staff contributed to this report. 
