Assembly Square Marketplace Master Plan

As part of the ongoing transformation of Somerville’s waterfront, the Assembly Square Marketplace Master Plan set out to reimagine a 20+ site of big-box retail and surface parking into a vibrant, mixed-use district integrated with the surrounding urban fabric.

Working with Federal Realty, Utile developed a series of master plan scenarios that balanced development potential with real-world constraints, including active commercial leases, phased parking requirements, and the site’s relationship to the Mystic River and nearby Assembly Row. Each scenario extended the local street grid and introduced a central open space connected to the waterfront, with a phased block structure enabling incremental redevelopment from south to north.

To inform the planning framework, Utile partnered with Stantec to conduct a comprehensive mobility and parking analysis, identifying opportunities to improve multimodal connections and reduce long-term parking demand across the district.

The planning process incorporated feedback from a wide range of stakeholders through hybrid-format public meetings and direct engagement with City staff and community members. The result was a refined alternative to the 2022 City-led draft plan, offering a flexible yet implementable vision that responds to Somerville’s goals for housing, connectivity, and public realm improvements.

Site Plan
Assembly Sq Marketplace - Tenant Parking
During site analysis, Utile gathered and visualized the existing Marketplace tenant leases and parking requirements. These requirements were built into the master plan scenarios so that parking was always sufficient per phase.
Assembly Square Marketplace Phases
Each master plan scenario was carefully designed such that it would be phaseable from the south to the north, marching toward the Mystic River. Designed in two-block mixed-use increments, the phasing strategy accounted for existing Marketplace tenant and new program parking demand such that there is always sufficient or surplus parking per phase.