The History of Assembly Row
Once a contaminated industrial site, Assembly Row is now a mixed-use destination designed to attract and excite visitors by anticipating their every need.
“When we look at the density that we’ve added to the neighborhood in the last seven or eight years and what’s in the pipeline from a growth perspective, we want to make sure we’re ahead of what those demands or desires are for that market,” said Liz Ryan, Vice President of Regional Leasing.
This forward-thinking, thoughtful approach is what has driven us to continue developing Assembly Row, ensuring that its retailers and services resonate with the community that surrounds it.
“When we think about the merchandising specifically, we want to make sure we’re giving our consumers, residents, and daytime workers a diverse offering mix because of the population we serve,” said Ryan.
Assembly Row Today
Once famous for its outlet shops, Assembly Row is now mixing things up with more full-price stores. To bridge the gap between the two, our leasing team looked for opportunities to expand on the retail categories that are performing well today and considered the ever-evolving consumers, residents, and daytime office workers of Somerville. One great example of this is Sephora, a brick-and-click beauty retailer with no outlet affiliation, opening its doors at Assembly Row. “It was a labor of love to get Sephora to think differently about real estate when they signed a lease with us,” said Ryan.
We want to make sure we’re ahead of what those demands or desires are for that market.
Liz Ryan, Vice President of Regional Leasing
We continued to conduct research and tap into non-outlet retailers that met the demands of the community. We’ve since installed more amenities and grown our tenant roster to include a number of restaurants, full-price shops, and experiences that cater to our target consumers. One of our most popular additions has been FITRow, our one-of-a-kind fitness concept that offers five boutique studios under one roof.
Creating a Sense of Community
In addition to continually optimizing our tenant mix, we pride ourselves in proactively identifying ways to take our shopping destinations one step further through amenities that resonate with their communities. This year, we’re installing a dog park and firepits that encourage people to congregate and “feel like they’re in their backyard,” said Ryan.
With our mix of retail tenants and improvements to Assembly Row, we’ve created an environment where people can easily spend the whole day here. For Ryan, a typical Saturday for a consumer at Assembly Row starts with a workout class at FITRow, grabbing a juice at Squeeze, shopping at Loft or Polo, meeting friends for lunch at Earl’s Kitchen + Bar, getting a manicure at Bliss, and topping the day off with a glass of wine at Legal C Bar.
“It’s very important for us to create a sense of place for people to want to spend not just money at our properties, but also spend time and embrace the community and amenities,” Ryan said.
Whether we’re reinventing it from its humble beginnings or leveling up its tenant roster, we make it a priority to continue developing fresh ideas with intention that are meaningful to Assembly Row and the Somerville community. Our thoughtful curation, research, and best-in-class commercial real estate experiences are what set us — and our other Federal Realty properties — apart.
Learn more about all that Assembly Row has to offer.
