Somerville advisory committee reviews sole remaining 90 Washington Street development bid

Finance Committee · Meeting of July 7, 2026

Somerville's 90 Washington advisory panel reviews Wood Partners' updated 418-unit proposal with no competing bid remaining. The 90 Washington Civic Advisory Committee met July 7 to examine a significantly revised submission from Wood Partners after North River Lyrinc withdrew during the best-and-final-offer period, citing an inability to meet both community goals and investor return requirements. Senior Planner Ben Demers outlined a redesign that breaks the original single-building concept into three structures, raises the unit count from 324 to 418, eliminates a seven-story above-ground parking structure in favor of 244 underground spaces, and adds a community space proposed for Council on Aging programming.

Committee member Bill Valletta called the process "one of the most confused, unfortunate and disappointing" he had seen in fifty years as a planner, while member Paula DeFabio said "Somerville's housing production ambition should include elements of ownership" and should not exclusively produce rental units. The Somerville Redevelopment Authority is scheduled to vote Monday, July 14, on whether to select Wood Partners as the development partner or reject all proposals from the RFP process entirely.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,215 words

Source: the Finance Committee meeting of July 7, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.