They share a border that slices through the heart of both communities, but when it comes to commercial real estate, the cities of Cambridge and Somerville could not be farther apart.

Whereas Cambridge has evolved during the past decade into one of the nation’s premier office markets, chock full of gleaming towers and leading biotech and high-tech powerhouses, its neighbor has remained a mostly residential enclave. Indeed, the most dominant commercial feature of Somerville would have to be the Assembly Square Mall, a failed retail center that has done little to boost the city’s corporate image.

“Aside from Davis Square, Somerville really has not emerged as an office market,” said Mark Winters, a broker with Cushman & Wakefield in Boston. “People just don’t look at it that way.”

But thanks to the advent of technology and other factors, the “City of Hills” may be making a giant leap forward on the commercial front. Telecommunications firms that need space for so-called switch hotels have found Somerville has numerous pluses, particularly one section that borders the golden East Cambridge market. There, on Inner Belt Road in Somerville, Cathartes Investments has already converted a former Filene’s warehouse into switch space and is now planning a pair of 190,000-square-foot buildings that will offer a combination of switch and office space.

Cathartes Managing Director Robert Maloney said last week that the firm, along with financial partner AEW Capital, bought the warehouse in 1997 for $7.6 million because it seemed like a solid distribution facility. Soon, however, the new owners began exploring the then-novel idea of targeting computer companies, which in turn lease their systems to Internet service providers that do not have their own networks.

Fueled by the rapid explosion of the Internet, switch hotels could prove to be the commercial real estate story of the year, with major projects proposed in such communities as Waltham, Needham and Allston. A downtown Boston department store is having its upstairs converted into switch space, while Cathartes and AEW have leased more than 200,000 square feet of switch space at their 451 D St. office building in South Boston.

Although Maloney said that “we’re as curious as anyone to see what the depth of the [telecommunications] market is,” he also noted that the Inner Belt Road properties are as well poised as any to serve that sector as long as it does exist. Sited just on the other side of the border, the existing and proposed buildings can feed directly off of fiber-optic cable that runs into East Cambridge, while the facilities also offer the necessary column spacing and heavy floorloads required of such properties.

“For all of those reasons, our building made a lot of sense,” Maloney said. “But the most important thing is, we deliver them the location that they need.”

Somerville Chamber of Commerce President Stephen Mackey noted that the fiber optic cable in the Inner Belt Road area connects with a core triangular network that extends to the Prudential Center in Boston and into the Hub’s Financial District. He also pointed out that Inner Belt Road is closer to Kendall Square than Harvard Square and is closer to Boston City Hall than Fenway Park.

Mackey’s point is that companies that consider Somerville can be wired with top-notch technology capabilities and would also be a stone’s throw away from the central Cambridge and Boston office markets. While admitting that Somerville lags behind the other two as a business location, Mackey said he believes the community is about to come into its own in that regard.

“After 350 years of development in Boston and Cambridge, Somerville is ready to cut in on some of that activity,” Mackey said. “We’re stepping up the resources and the emphasis on working with Boston and Cambridge real estate investors and developers to [encourage them] to take a serious look at what we have to offer.”

Cheaper and Faster
The Chamber has marshaled several of its leading corporate members and is working in tandem with Somerville city government to promote the notion of office and telecommunications uses for the community of 75,000 people. Despite the head start afforded its neighbors, Somerville does have some current benefits, Mackey said, including real estate that tends to cost about one-third less than what can be found in Boston and Cambridge. In addition, Cambridge currently has an 18-month development moratorium on, while Boston’s oft-cumbersome approval process also benefits Somerville’s can-do attitude.

“Our development timetable is much faster,” said Mackey, who credited Mayor Dorothy Kelly Gay and the city’s planning department for committing themselves to commercial growth. “There’s an ability and a desire to help move the process along quickly.”

Calls to city officials were not returned by press deadline, but Maloney concurred with Mackey in praising Somerville’s pro-business attitude. Cathartes will meet with the city this week for what it hopes will be final approval on the two proposed buildings. Once the go-ahead is given, construction could begin by May 1 on the first structure, with completion anticipated by November. Given the time-sensitive nature of that market, Maloney said local support has been a critical element.

“Everybody in the city has been great to work with,” Maloney said. “They are excited by the opportunities for the city, and they have been very accommodating to us.”

Another recent development that may also play into Somerville’s future is the opening of a new off-ramp from Interstate 93 North into Sullivan Square. Maloney noted that motorists previously had to navigate through Charlestown to get to the area, but now they have direct access. Mackey added that the city is exploring ways to improve public transportation access, perhaps by lobbying for commuter rail stops to utilize the multiple lines that already cut through the community.

Between the new infrastructure and the growth of the Inner Belt Road area, Mackey said he believes the city is well positioned for enticing the real estate industry to consider Somerville for office and other commercial uses. Indeed, CB Richard Ellis/Whittier Partners broker Michael Joyce said he believes it is not so much Somerville’s image that has kept businesses away, but rather the dearth of space.

“It’s just because of the lack of supply,” Joyce said. “Once that comes, it will be a successful office development. It’s just a matter of time.”