Somerville’s long-running push to overhaul the four-acre parcel at 90 Washington Street is suddenly a one-horse race. North River Leerink has bowed out during the Best-and-Final-Offer period, leaving Wood Partners as the lone finalist for the city-owned site next to the East Somerville Green Line station. With just one bid left on the table, the city is staring down familiar tradeoffs over parking, open space and how many affordable homes it can realistically lock in.
Wood Partners emerges as lone finalist
After North River’s exit, Somerville’s SRA advanced Wood Partners as the remaining contender. The developer’s updated proposal reportedly calls for roughly 418 residential units and about 15,000 square feet of retail on the site. Advisory panel members had earlier voiced disappointment at losing the second bid, and the timeline sketched out in reporting points to a mid-2027 construction start if entitlements and negotiations stay on track, according to the Boston Business Journal.
City confirms withdrawal and next steps
The City of Somerville’s RFP page confirms that North River Leerink formally withdrew at the end of the BAFO period, leaving staff to bring Wood Partners’ final submission back to the Civic Advisory Committee, City Council and SRA for a decision, according to the City of Somerville. The same page notes that each proposal includes a confidential financial component and lays out a review schedule that put SRA action in mid-July. With only one team left, staff will now move ahead on rezoning, entitlement and negotiation steps with Wood Partners.
Plans differed - and numbers shifted
Wood Partners’ April technical submission described a single integrated building with about 324 rental apartments, roughly 14,900 square feet of ground-floor retail and a structured garage of about 398 spaces. HR&A Advisors’ technical evaluation, prepared for the SRA, scored both teams on design, entitlement strategy and experience, and flagged each proposal for further refinement while laying out the tradeoffs between density, open space and parking.
The April materials and HR&A’s memo created the baseline for comparison even as Wood Partners’ post-BAFO numbers reportedly shifted. For the details, see the developer’s original proposal and the city’s technical review: Wood Partners and HR&A Advisors.
Neighbors and advocates push back
Community groups and several councilors have been leaning hard on the design and parking pieces. Somerville YIMBY blasted Wood Partners’ early “Texas doughnut” concept for wrapping housing around an above-grade garage, while civic advisory members praised North River’s multi-building plan and central green but worried about whether a massive underground garage could ever pencil out.
Local reporting has captured councilors’ concerns that underground parking might be prohibitively expensive and that taller buildings with more housing could deliver better tradeoffs on open space and affordability overall, according to Banker & Tradesman and coverage of the debate in neighborhood outlets.
Money - and feasibility - loom largest
From the outset, Somerville’s RFP materials have been clear that the city wants to recoup a big chunk of the roughly $35.3 million it spent to buy the 90 Washington parcel. That goal sits at the center of the selection calculus. The RFP also keeps specific dollar figures under wraps while the SRA negotiates, which limits how much the public can see about where the city might trade design changes for higher near-term proceeds. The financial and schedule priorities are outlined on the project page, according to the City of Somerville.
What comes next
With the competition effectively over, the city and Wood Partners now enter a negotiation and due-diligence phase aimed at a development agreement, followed by rezoning and design review. If those steps move without major derailments, Wood Partners has signaled a timeline that would push construction toward mid-2027.
The SRA and Planning processes still have to clear several rounds of approvals before any groundbreaking. Along the way, the city and developer will be under pressure to sort out the mix of parking, open space and affordability, according to the Boston Business Journal.
Why it matters to Somerville
For residents, the stakes are high. The 90 Washington site sits at the junction of Union Square, Brickbottom and East Somerville, and whatever gets built there will shape transit-rich housing supply, neighborhood retail and public space for years to come.
Key questions to watch include whether Wood Partners pulls back on above-grade parking in favor of more homes and more usable open space, and whether affordable units are spread across buildings or clustered by financing type. Neighbors and advocates have zeroed in on those issues throughout the review.
Local watchdogs are unlikely to look away now. Somerville YIMBY and neighborhood reporters have been tracking the SRA’s moves and the project’s evolution and show no signs of letting up: Somerville YIMBY and Cambridge/Somerville Independent.
