The planned extension of the Green Line through Somerville into Medford has fueled so, so much planning in the last several years at the macro and micro level. People have bought homes based on the anticipated seven stations. Developers have broken ground on major projects. And landlords have invested in apartment buildings in the anticipation of higher rents. The Green Line, moreover, has become perhaps the most used marketing tool in Greater Boston real estate (besides "spectacular") and it doesn't even exist yet.
Tuesday's news-bomb that the extension may not happen—or at least may not happen as planned and/or as soon as planned—has people then understandably worried. Case in point from Dan Adams in the Globe: ""'The price for housing in Somerville is kind of hard to justify, but the inevitability of the Green Line extension and the effect it would have on my property's value made me sleep better,' said Rob Day, who with his wife bought a condominium near Union Square in December and expected to commute to his job as a Web developer in Boston on the new Green Line. 'On Tuesday, I got up, saw the news on my phone, and said, "oh, [expletive]." There was just a pit in my stomach.'"
Again, though, no decisions have been made about tearing up the plans—only talk about paring back the scale of the new stations (though we can't help but think this is mere preamble to a much bigger announcement about the extension's indefinite delay or major scale-back). Here was the advice of Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone, whose city has been using the extension to woo businesses: "Don't sell your condo, all right? Hang onto it. You'll be fine."
· Home Buyers Anxious Over Future of Green Line Project [Globe]
· Transit Expert: $3B for T Extension 'Way Out of Scale' [Herald]
· Swelling Costs Could Stunt Epic Green Line Extension [Curbed Boston]
· Somerville Is Doomed to Be a More Desirable Place to Live [Curbed Boston]
· Prospect Street Condos Hop Aboard Somerville's Green Line [Curbed Boston]
· Somerville's 197 Union Square Reaching Sales Tipping Point [Curbed Boston]
· Our complete Green Line Extension coverage [Curbed Boston]
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