Demolition Begins at 299 Broadway: 320 Mixed-Income Homes Advance in Winter Hill

Demolition began in mid-December 2025 at 299 Broadway in Somerville, marking the first physical step toward rebuilding a long-underutilized block in Winter Hill.

The site is being redeveloped by Mark Development, Beacon Communities, and Samuels & Associates, designed by Utile, with landscape architecture by Future Green Studio, structural engineering by H+O, and construction managed by D.F. Pray General Contractors and Plumb House.

When complete, the project will deliver 320 residential units across 300,000 gross square feet, combining mixed-income housing with ground-floor retail and community space along Broadway.

This is a full-block reinvestment along one of Somerville’s primary corridors.

The Scope: Housing at Meaningful Scale

Winter Hill Buildings A and B will provide 240,000 net square feet of residential space. Of the 320 total homes, 48 percent are affordable rentals and 52 percent are market-rate rentals.

Affordable units will range from one- to three-bedrooms. Market-rate homes will range from studios to three-bedrooms.

At nearly half the unit count, affordability is not symbolic. It shapes financing, phasing, and long-term asset positioning.

The residential program is supported by:

• 13,650 square feet of retail space intended for local and regional tenants
• A 3,000 square foot community room, available for neighborhood groups to reserve

Both buildings have received PHIUS design certification, in line with the City of Somerville’s progressive sustainability goals. For a mixed-income project of this scale, achieving PHIUS certification represents a meaningful commitment.

Housing anchors the development. Retail and community space reinforce its connection to the street.

Rebuilding the Broadway Corridor

Broadway functions as a working corridor in Somerville. It carries transit access, daily foot traffic, and neighborhood retail. Concentrating housing density here aligns with that pattern.

Utile’s design distributes the program across two buildings and transitions in height from six stories along Broadway down toward adjacent residential blocks. This step-down strategy maintains corridor presence while responding to surrounding homes.

Rather than presenting a single continuous facade, the massing breaks into volumes that reflect neighborhood rhythm. Retail frontage activates the street edge. Public access through the site restores permeability across the block.

Future Green Studio’s landscape strategy integrates open space into circulation, strengthening the relationship between buildings and street.

From Demolition to Delivery

With demolition underway, the project now shifts from entitlement and design into vertical construction sequencing and execution.

At H+O Structural Engineering, we collaborate early with developers and architects to align structural choices with cost realities, connecting design intent to efficient delivery. If you are planning a large-scale multifamily or mixed-use project, contact us today to capture measurable savings, reduce risk, and experience a clear path to more predictable builds.