By Thomas Grillo
Banker & Tradesman Staff Writer

Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone has proposed burying an MBTA rail yard underneath a section of the city’s gritty East Somerville neighborhood, as part of a larger effort to transform the area into an office and biotechnology hub.

One of the ideas the Curtatone administration has floated is construction of a soccer arena atop the maintenance yard. The Kraft family, owners of the New England Revolution professional soccer team, is considering a 25,000-seat stadium on a site that includes vacant lots, industrial and warehouse buildings and rail lines.

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation (EOT) wants to build a 12-acre train maintenance and storage facility in the Innerbelt area next to the Brickbottom Artists Building. EOT says the rail yard is necessary to expand the Green Line into Somerville and Medford.

But Brickbottom residents, activists and the Somerville Chamber of Commerce oppose the plan, noting that such a large facility would fill the neighborhood with constant noise, light and vibration. In addition, they argue such a yard would restrict pedestrian and vehicle connections and chill plans for office, research & development, retail or housing in the area.

In a letter to the EOT, Curtatone said while Somerville is comitted to the Green Line and will consider a maintenance facility, its location should not impede development opportunities. The letter suggests the rail yard could be built as part of an air-rights project that would hide the yard beneath a building.

 “We are looking at different ways to reconfigure the facility for air rights and we are not excluding any option,” said Monica Lamboy, executive director of Somerville’s Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development. “The goal would be to have the maintenance yard completely hidden underneath something.”