After long delays and nasty court battles regarding the massive NorthPoint development in Cambridge, the state is finally starting to take matters into their own hands.
A rendering of the new Lechmere Green Line station that would be a part of the NorthPoint development.
The state Executive Office of Transportation has said that they will take over the construction of the new Lechmere Green Line station. A new station at Lechmere is critical to expansion of the Green Line into Somerville and Medford.
Originally, the developers of NorthPoint had agreed to construct a $70 million Lechmere station as a part of their new ‘mini-city.’ Unfortunately, the project has gone sour, and the two developers (Cambridge NorthPoint LLC and Boston and Maine Corp.) have been locked in a court battle in Delaware regarding everything from the pacing of construction and the financing of the project. This has held up the new station as well, putting the aggressive timeline for extending the Green Line to Medford in jeopardy.
Movement of the Lechmere station is a necessity because the current station is not aligned with the tracks that are planned to be used for the extension to Medford. While the state is certainly making an aggressive move in taking over the construction of the station, they have not ruled out working with the developers when the court case is settled.
Source: Boston Globe
Image: Boston.com
Filed under: Cambridge, Green Line, Massachusetts, NorthPoint, Public Transportation
