MUgar woodland in East Arlington

The Mugar family, founders of Star Market and noted Boston area philanthropists, acquired 17.7 acres of land adjacent to the Alewife MBTA Station in 1954 with the intention of building a grocery store adjacent to the newly improved Route 2.

The land, after a 150 years of farming, had been exploited for 20 years by its prior owner, with its rich top soil extracted and the land used to stockpile highway construction materials.

As the grocery store was never built, nature, in the intervening 70 years since, reclaimed this post-industrial property and today a thriving woodland exists.

Striving to balance conservation with Arlington’s and greater Boston’s dire need for housing, the Mugar family selected Dinosaur and GreenStaxx to develop a sensitive plan that leaves 89.9% of the land unbuilt, permanently conserves 12 acres of woodland (with an endowment for restoration and maintenance) and creates 124 active adult (age 62+) apartments and 12 family townhouses including 31 affordable apartments and 3 affordable townhouses (25%.)

A comprehensive permit was received in 2022.