A 227-unit apartment building that will replace the abandoned Faces nightclub, a longtime eyesore on Route 2 in Cambridge, is set to break ground tomorrow.
Criterion Development Partners will demolish the old discotheque that has sat as a derelict reminder of a bygone bell-bottomed era vacant since 1990 to begin 24 months of construction on the 280,000-square-foot property, to be called Residences at Alewife.
Criterion Development and partner the McKinnon Co. proposed a similar plan for the site in 2008, but after permitting issues and the ensuing economic downturn, the project was stalled for years. Now, the company has all the necessary permits to begin work, said Susan Glazer, deputy director of economic development for Cambridge.
And that is music to the developers’ and the city’s ears. The property has been long considered a blight on the area. Just seeing the towering Faces sign looming above the graffiti-scrawled former club proved too much for neighbors who requested the developers cover it earlier this year.
Criterion is still in the process of purchasing the property from the owners, the Martignetti family of local liquor store lore, but the sale is imminent, said John Englert, principal at Criterion. The Martignettis still own the neighboring Lanes & Games bowling alley and the Cambridge Gateway Inn.
"It’s certainly been a long time in the making, and we’re excited to create a new gateway to the western side of Cambridge," Englert said. "The economy was off, but it’s now stabilized a bit and people are interested in investing in these types of deals. We’ve seen tremendous growth right around us. A lot will happen in the next several years. We’re very bullish on that area."
Forrester Research recently moved into its new 190,000-square-foot corporate headquarters at Cambridge Discovery Park adjacent to the location of the planned apartment building. The park is a 27-acre campus master planned to accommodate an additional 700,000 square feet of office, laboratory, and research and development buildings when fully completed by owner and developer by The Bulfinch Cos.
And while nothing is set in stone, industry sources say there may be a new flagged hotel replacing the Cambridge Gateway Inn that sits between the bowling alley and the old nightclub.
