Kendall Square Cambridge (Boston) vs. University City Philadelphia

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

Actually, Davis Square is IMO the model for what Union Square probably will become once the Green Line Extension hits it.

I remember Davis Square as being kind of sleepy when I was an undergrad at Harvard. You took the 96 Medford Square bus up there from Harvard Square. Back then, Tufts University, which straddles the Somerville/Medford line just north of Davis Square, identified itself as being in Medford, and you took the bus because you wanted to go to Tufts, not to Davis Square.

Then the new station on the Red Line Alewife extension opened in 1984 or thereabouts.

One of my roommates in college is a Somerville native and now lives near Davis Square. Whenever I come up to Boston, usually for a class reunion, I make a point of hanging out with him in Davis Square, which is positively jumping now. I attribute the sea change in the commercial district's fortunes to the improved accessibility and connections the subway brought with it. I think that Tufts now even acknowledges that it's partly in Somerville.

Davis Square is not an "innovation district," nor will it ever be, nor does it need to be. Its layout makes it ideally suited to perform the community commons function it now performs, and I wouldn't want to ruin it with a bunch of office buildings.

I agree with all of this. I think the two are very comparable (and Union is already super lively). But the difference between the two that I was referencing is there are some pretty significant development proposals for the industrial land adjacent to Union Square (2+ Million Sq Ft.) and you'll never see anything like that at Davis because there's just no room for it. It's already too surrounded by dense residential development to accommodate large scale office or residential projects. Neither will become anything like Kendall, University City, etc. But Union may see some larger scale development in the not so different future.

Also, Tufts is definitely selling itself as being partly in Somerville and in the Davis Square area. The Red Line announcements actually say "Davis Square / Tufts." When the Green Line Extension is complete, Tufts will have a stop almost on campus.

[masssachoicetts]

what kind of projects are being developed now in Kendall Square? (Besides SoMa)

[The_General]

Originally Posted by masssachoicetts

what kind of projects are being developed now in Kendall Square? (Besides SoMa)

Here's a list of projects in the Kendall Sq area

http://www.bldup.com/places/cambridg...Kendall+Square

[kingtutaaa]

University City is rapidly growing and gaining on Kendall Sq. but not there yet . If interested this is the latest University City Dist. annual report . https://issuu.com/universitycity/doc...47788/54875740

[kidphilly]

this is a great link for the U City development of SYs and 30th street railyard




let it play through (it changes pictures), if built anything close will be quite the location




thedirtypirate posted in a H2Q thread


https://www.som.com/projects/philade..._district_plan