Somerville Retail Space - For Rent & Sale

Typical Properties

This city encompasses a relatively large geographical region within the Greater Boston area, which means that properties here range from multi-story structures in the heart of downtown to innovative new developments along the banks of the Mystic River. Because the city has been continuously inhabited for nearly four hundred years, many of the properties here are renovated or restored historic buildings. However, redevelopment projects have also created numerous new buildings within historic districts. Essentially, this city has almost every spatial configuration imaginable, with relatively high urban density influencing most structures to be at least three stories in height.

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The property at 17 Holland Street is an excellent example of this typology. Located in the center of the heavily trafficked commercial neighborhood of Davis Square, this structure is currently undergoing extensive renovation as part of a redevelopment project. The new building, which will be completed in 2018, will feature four stories, plus a walkable roof top area for a garden or city viewing purposes. The first story will have floor to ceiling glass windows that can open up into the sidewalk during the summer months to create an outdoor dining experience. The next two floors will house office or residential space, with private balconies provided at regular intervals. The fourth floor will be dedicated to a luxurious penthouse space, including a vertical garden wall, with access to the rooftop. When complete, the structure will have 9,450 square feet of leasable space, and be close to dozens of other businesses, restaurants, and residential quarters.

Similarly, the property at 290 Highland Avenue is another brand new project on an established street in Davis Square. However, it takes pains to mimic the buildings around it, featuring a ground floor retail space with condominiums on the second through fourth floors. The ground floor retail space has display windows that look out directly onto the bustling sidewalk, but also extends far back into the footprint of the property to provide as much open floor for tenant customization and/or inventory storage and display. With tall ceilings and an ample amount of natural light from the storefront, the interior is vivid and airy. The ground floor interior unit is 1,550 square feet in size.

The property at 315 Broadway is another newly constructed structure located in the neighborhood of Winter Hill, which is close to the Mystic River. With one story of ground floor retail and three floors of residential units, the property features a grand total of 60,000 square feet of leasable space. The ground floor is broken up into five separate commercial suites, ranging in size from 1,429 to 1,918 square feet in size. The corner lot makes the building a natural destination for shoppers and diners. The commercial suites also feature 18 foot high ceilings, which makes them ideal for a number of different business configurations. Completed in 2017, this building is also relatively close to Interstate 93 and Route 28, making it easy to access from Boston’s downtown.

The property at 191 Beacon Street is located on a prominent boulevard that spans several major commercial neighborhoods within the city. This three story complex was built in 2018 and has a ground floor commercial suite with 10 foot high ceilings, as well as an extensive wall of windows that provides ample natural illumination, in addition to expansive street views. The 726 square foot unit has been listed for sale, and is located within close distance of numerous other boutiques and dense residential developments.

The property at 657 Somerville Avenue is nestled in the Spring Hill neighborhood, and features 1,026 square feet of leasable space. Built in 1900, this elegantly maintained brick building features multiple entrances on a corner lot along a tree-lined street. Located 0.4 miles from the Porter Square Station, the structure is easily accessible via both public transit and the Interstate, and looks out on a highly traveled sidewalk that is friendly to pedestrians.

The property at 240 Elm Street is a gorgeous study in custom built bookcases and bright, airy interiors. Originally built in 1920, this building has substantially renovated its interiors to create 49,839 square feet of top tier mixed use space, catering to dynamic retailers and other commercial enterprises. Suites from 100 to 5,000 square feet are available for lease. The building has been designed to serve its tenants by allowing for as much configuration as is possible. Instead of being forced to take on unnaturally large suites, tenants can craft their spaces to suit their specific needs, thereby creating highly efficient, aesthetically beautiful units.

Average Renting and Buying Prices

This neighborhood’s proximity to downtown Boston, in combination with its highly accessible urban density, makes the average renting and buying prices competitive, but not unaffordable. A commercial suite on the ground floor will usually rent for between $2.00 to $3.00 a square foot per month, while the average purchase price for a commercial unit ranges from $450 to $500 a square foot. These prices exclude the properties in Assembly Square, which have an exceptionally high median purchase price of $850 per square foot.

The property at 62 Bow Street is a perfect example of the median purchase price for this neighborhood. The four story structure was built in 1920, and features a total of four stories, with a ground floor retail suite. This ground floor suite has red canopies on the Windows, and looks out onto a charming sidewalk in Prospect Hill. The interior features beautifully restored exposed brick walls with hardwood floors and beautifully detailed ceiling tiles. Restored period lighting fixtures provide ample illumination, and vividly painted walls create a dynamic energy within the unit. Currently a music rehearsal space, the unit has also been used as a drop-off dry cleaner’s, and may be suitable for other business purposes depending on the specifics of the local zoning code. This 600 square foot space has a sale list price of $299,000, or $498 per square foot.

On the lower end of the scale is the freestanding structure at 364-368 Medford Street. Located near Winter Hill, this structure was built in 1900 and has been well maintained. The interiors have been renovated, and feature tile flooring and freshly plastered walls. Located 1.6 miles from the nearest MBTA Commuter Rail line, this space is located near several bus routes, and features heat and air conditioning. The 1,700 ground floor commercial suite, which can be configured to meet almost any custom tenant need, has a rent of $1.78 per square foot per mont

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On the higher end of the scale is the property at 366 Somerville Avenue, which is located near the center of Prospect Hill and was built in 1920. This two story structure has been beautifully renovated, and has a series of ample display windows lining the ground floor unit. Located on a corner next to a public bench and historical street lamps, the building is visually arresting, with an elegant clapboard cladding and quasi-art-deco flourishes. The entryway features a tiled foyer that opens up into a hardwood reception area with built-in furnishings, including a large receiving desk. Reading nooks are peppered throughout the welcoming hallways, which are large enough to allow for easy circulation of people in wheelchairs. The private offices feature frosted glass window panes, and other large working areas feature carpeting. A 3,918 square foot unit, which is highly configurable, has an estimated rent of $2.92 per square foot per month.

The property at 70 Prospect Street, which is located on a slender, curving corner in Union Square, is faintly reminiscent of the Flatiron building in its design. Featuring both a plaster and brick exterior on a steel frame construction, this building features five floors of beautiful suites with marvelous views of the surrounding city. A 921 square foot unit on the very front of the building has two seperate entrances. It has twelve foot ceilings, a wall of windows, and is positioned to attract a steady stream of foot and bicycle traffic. Completed in 2017, the structure features two halcyon ductless cooling and heating systems, as well as recessed lighting. The sale price for this unit is $449,000, or approximately $487 per square foot.

Real Estate News

This city has undertaken two new massive redevelopment projects. The first comes in the form of Assembly Square, which is a 45 acre parcel that has welcomed several mixed-use luxury condominium towers and commercial units to the area. The region used to be a Ford Motor Company assembly plant until it was repurposed for new development. Commonly referred to as “Assembly Row,” the project recently placed a twenty story building with 447 apartments and several public areas on the market. Every unit in the tower quickly sold out, with some units selling for as high as $1,000 a square foot. The area, which began selling residences in 2014, has purposefully cultivated a downtown energy closer to a city such as Toronto, favoring a lot of activities and interlocking spaces. The development currently has 500,000 square feet of entertainment, dining, and commercial suites, as well as a six acre park along the Mystic River. Part of the design strategy has been to create a “city within a city,” making the developments attractive not only to residents but to visitors.

The second redevelopment project is a $1 billion plan that features 2.3 million square feet of residential, commercial, and civic suites. Known as the Union Square project, this scheme will feature 100,000 square feet of publicly accessible areas. An extension of the MBTA’s Green Line has also been proposed, which would dramatically increase the accessibility of the region. The idea behind the Union Square redevelopment is to create a thriving project that is not only bustling during the daytime, but also attracts a healthy group of visitors, patrons, and residents in the evening. This has placed an emphasis on creating a range of commercial suites, such as boutiques, restaurants, and performance art theaters, that will sustain an active evening presence in the neighborhood. The overall height of the district is changing, as well; although the city traditionally has had an average building height of three to five stories, many of the new proposed projects have a dozen or more stories. The rezoning for the project was approved in June 2017.

Large corporations have also been eyeing the area, with some opening new headquarters or large facilities in the region, such as Partners Healthcare. Along with Boston, this city is also on the shortlist for Amazon’s new headquarters, which would dramatically increase not only the number of jobs available in the city, but the value of housing stock and commercial suites across the board. Whether or not Amazon decides to choose the city for its new headquarters, the accessibility, density, and dynamic energy of the region is attracting interest from a variety of other entrepreneurs and international organizations already. Avecto, a security company that originated in the United Kingdom, recently opened a nearly 10,000 square foot office in Assembly Row. In February of 2018, ten new restaurants and commercial boutiques announced they would be opening in Assembly Row, including a Bath & Body Works, a CycleBar, a Polo Ralph Lauren Factory Store, and numerous new restaurants with Italian, BBQ, and pub offerings. A new hotel is scheduled to open, as well.

Sign Up Benefits

What is the best way to navigate the hot new markets in this city? With so many new units selling out almost as soon as the listings go up, it's vital to find a service that can help you identify and secure the properties you’re interested in before it’s too late. By signing up to this service, you will be able to immediately begin viewing properties before anyone else.

We’ve spent years carefully fostering relationships with major developers, brokers, and a number of property owners to help our clients get the best deals. We also believe that the details matter. By carefully noting what types of property features our clients are seeking, we can send customized messages to our clients alerting them that a particular listing or property type has become available for a viewing.

Our knowledge of the city, and our focus on keeping track of new projects, means that we’re able to match clients not only with their ideal properties, but with their preferred type of lease or sale conditions. Whether our clients are seeking a charming historical building for a multi-year lease or a decked-out luxury suite for a momentous pop-up in a brand a new tower, we can help our customers find the right space at the right time.

So much of our business success depends on being informed, courteous, and professional. Our viewing service caters to the needs of our clients by offering flexible viewing times and knowledgeable, helpful guides. We can arrange tours of multiple properties during a particular window of time to best suit our clients. We understand that time is invaluable, and we strive to make the most of it.

We are also conscious of meeting budgets. Our clients may have a certain price range in mind, or be seeking a particular configuration that prioritizes build-out availability with a rapidly approaching move-in date. They may also be seeking a suite that will not be become available until months or years into the future. Whatever the particular arrangement, we are proud to be able to offer our clients a roster of pertinent information that will easily facilitate finding the perfect commercial property.

In this neighborhood, we are currently monitoring new developments in Davis Square, Assembly Row, and Union Square. We anticipate that there will be several trading and/or buying opportunities in Assembly Row, and some sneak-peak viewings in Union Square. We believe that Davis Square offers excellent opportunities for clients who want to get the maximum amount of value for their investment. We are also closely monitoring the progress of proposed public transit projects, and highlighting those properties that either currently are or will become exceptionally accessible by mass transportation. We have also noted properties that are currently undergoing renovation and restoration, and will likely become available for occupancy or purchase soon.

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