Twin City Plaza
Cambridge, MA
THE CHALLENGE
Twin City Plaza was a redevelopment of an older 300,000 SF shopping center, located in the cities of Cambridge and Somerville, just outside of Boston. The entitlement process included legislative approval for a land swap with the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) and permits from each of the two separate municipalities. In addition, the parking layout of Twin City Plaza was poorly configured and at the time of acquisition, the center suffered from a high vacancy rate.
THE SOLUTION
Legislative approval for the land swap, traffic permits from the MDC, Massachusetts Environmental Policy ACT (MEPA) approval, and permits from both Cambridge and Somerville were all secured. Additional land was acquired, and a reconfigured and upgraded parking layout included 100 new parking spaces.
The Star Market was expanded and became a new Shaw’s Supermarket, and additional retail space was added in order to accommodate a new Marshall’s store. The property was stabilized and sold to REIT in 2006.
