August 2025: Planning Board approved
The site is a corner lot in East Somerville, abutting the McGrath Highway, a seven lane surface road, and two pitched roof houses. Across the street is a gas station. For many years, the site has hosted a pottery studio in an unremarkable single story building.
The proposed development at 181 Pearl Street is a 3-story building with three residential apartments. The site is a corner parcel within the MR3 zoning district, and is abutted by NR zoned parcels on each side. It is bounded by Pearl Street to the south, Dana Street and McGrath Highway to the east, a 2 ½ story house to the west, and a two-story house to the north. There are a mix of single-family, two-family, triple-decker, and larger residential buildings in the immediate vicinity. Across Pearl St is a gas station, and across McGrath Highway are several low rise commercial buildings.
The development also contributes meaningfully to the neighborhood streetscape by setting back from the curb to create a generous sidewalk and large planter along Pearl Street with a pollinator garden and street tree. Beneath the tree is a bench built into the planter that extends the stoop culture of the neighborhood. The permeable-paved courtyard also contains a common seating area and planter beds. These gardens contribute to the city’s resiliency and ecological goals by increasing permeable area and adding native species and pollinators to diversify the local habitat.
