Taurus and National Development paid $15 million for the failedAssembly Square Mall in 1997 and have been working since to createa use local residents could support for the 26-acre parcel. Thelatest concept features a Home Depot, a 150-room hotel and 150,000sf of office space on an abutting 10-acre site acquired by Taurusin 1997 for $8.2 million. In a move made to appease SomervilleMayor Dorothy Kelly Gay and a citizen's task force, Taurus andNational would not dominate the mall property with so-calledbig-box stores, as originally envisioned.

The latest adaptation appeared to have considerable support, buta zoning change suggested by Alderman Denise Provost has put thatproposal into turmoil. Provost would downzone the 140-acre AssemblySquare area to allow only buildings that fit onto a city-sizedstreet. That, according to Merrigan, would kill the Home Depot andmake it difficult to build either the hotel or office building.

"It's very detrimental to any kind of conventional developmentdown there," says Merrigan, adding that the idea "came out of leftfield." Indeed, while calls to Gay's office were not returned, someobservers say they believe the Mayor was also caught off guard byProvost's move.