Pemberton Market to be demolished and rebuilt

[ron_newman]

I received the following announcment from a Porter Square mailing list. Note that this is the "old" Pemberton Market at Mass. Ave. and Rindge Ave., not the "new" Pemberton Farms at Mass. Ave. and Day Street.

North Cambridge Stabilization Committee will address this project at their August 9 meeting. (2050 Mass. Ave, 7 to 9PM)
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The property owners hope to demolish the one-story Pemberton Market & Liquors building and replace it with a four-story structure that includes enclosed parking for 15 vehicles. The retail market would occupy the new ground-floor storefront, and the upper floors would consist of 15 one- and two-bedroom condominiums.

Consultant Linda Haar (formerly chief planner for the Boston Redevelopment Authority) will join us to present the proposal and take questions and comments. As currently envisioned, the project would be denser in terms of the number of condos, more massive in terms of floor space and height setbacks, and taller than city zoning regulations allow without a hardship variance.
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Here's a link to the project Web site, which is still under construction.

http://www.pembertoncorner.com/

Comments

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

They could be betting that the market will recover by the time they're done building (which could take several years when you factor in the permitting, zoning exemption, crazed Cambridge, politics, etc.).

And hey, even if they are crazy? I am all about having more housing in the area, because that's the only way it'll ever be more affordable.

And wow, if chumbolly is right about their owning the land, that really does change the economics that much.