Assembly Row adds beehives to unfolding Somerville complex

Somerville’s Assembly Row is adding a twist to the amenities gold rush in the Boston region.

Your condo complex has a 24-7 concierge? There are spots in the parking garage where you can plug in your electric car? Your new apartment is down the hall from a yoga studio and a smoothie bar? There’s bocce on the roof?

Please. Assembly Row developer Federal Realty Investment Trust has partnered with the Best Bees Company to add two hives of Italian honeybees to the still-unfolding neighborhood, which now includes 830,000 square feet of office space, 1,000 residential units, a 158-key hotel, and 500,000 square feet of retail, restaurant, and entertainment.

The hives are located in a protected alcove off the second-floor green rooftop at the Row Hotel. The Marriott-owned Row plans to use the honey harvested through the hives as an ingredient in some of its bar and restaurant menu items, according to a Federal Realty spokeswoman.

The Best Bees Company will also be able to use the hives for research. Federal Realty, too, is adding similar hives to developments in Wellesley and Queens, New York.

“The addition of the bees to our properties helps show our connection to the community and our support of our partner the Best Bees Company’s commitment to saving the bee population,” Matt Ehrie, Federal Realty’s vice president of asset management, said in a statement. “We are excited to see how the harvested honey can be incorporated into a variety of products and menus.”