And boom goes the largest slice of land left for development in Cambridge. The first tower in the NorthPoint development at the Gilmore Bridge and the Monsignor O'Brien Highway is now expected to come online in about 30 months. Developed by a partnership that includes Magic Johnson's development firm and HYM, the concern behind the Waterside Place apartment tower in the Seaport District, NorthPoint could grow to 5 million square feet of residential, office and retail.
The first addition is a 20-story apartment tower with 355 luxury units as well as ground-floor retail. More than the actual oomph of the tower's innards is its integration into the area. Per Greg Turner at The Herald, this first NorthPoint tower will feature an elevated park and staircase providing pedestrian access between the Gilmore Bridge, which runs to the Orange Line stop in Charlestown, and the tower about two stories below. Transit-oriented, people, transit-oriented. That's what it's all about these days.
· Builders Get to the Point [Herald]
· Somerville's Downward-Facing Doghouse and Hub's Apt. Future [Curbed Boston]
· Our Development du Jour archive [Curbed Boston]