Michigander in Mass

The Boston Globe reported today that "[l]andowners in the Assembly Square area are nearing a deal that could break a seven-year stalemate and bring both a new Ikea furniture store and a mixed-use, transit-friendly development to the banks of the Mystic River."

A land swap betweek Ikea--which owns 17 acres of land bordering the Orange Line and the Mystic River--and the company that owns the Assembly Square mall would "move the Swedish furniture chain away from the prime waterfront land that Ikea opponents and city officials have sought to save for a denser urban riverside redevelopment."

The current Ikea property would be used for dense residential develoment, and Ikea would move closer to I-93, Circuit City and Home Depot (in the stretch of land alongside the Orange Line currently reserved for mixed-use development).