About Union Square
Union Square is a Somerville neighborhood where Somerville Avenue, Washington Street, Prospect Street and Bow Street converge below Prospect Hill, and the oldest commercial center in the city. Two Green Line Extension stations fall within it: Union Square on the D branch, which opened in March 2022, and Gilman Square on the E branch, with Sullivan Square on the Orange Line and Central on the Red Line each under a mile out. Its rental stock is mostly three- and two-family wood-frame houses rented by the floor, with newer mixed-use construction around the station, and Prospect Hill Tower, Bow Market and the seasonal farmers market anchor the area.
Spot Easy lists Union Square apartments from verified agents, with real-time availability, filters for bedroom count, bathrooms, pets, parking, laundry and no-broker-fee listings, and photos or 3D tours on most units.
East Cambridge apartments lie south, Winter Hill apartments north and Inman Square apartments southwest across the Cambridge line. Somerville-wide median asking rents by bedroom count, with sample sizes and percentiles, are published in the Spot Easy Rent Index.
FAQ about Union Square Apartments for Rent
How is transit access in Union Square?
Union Square is served by the Green Line D branch at Union Square station, which opened in March 2022 and is the branch terminus. Gilman Square on the Green Line E branch also falls within the neighborhood, and East Somerville is just beyond its eastern edge. Sullivan Square on the Orange Line and Central on the Red Line are each under a mile out. Before 2022 this area had no rail service at all, so the transit picture here is genuinely newer than its reputation.
Where is Union Square in Somerville?
Union Square is in southeastern Somerville, where Somerville Avenue, Washington Street, Prospect Street and Bow Street converge. It sits below Prospect Hill, between Central Square in Cambridge to the south and Winter Hill to the north. The square itself is the oldest commercial center in the city.
What kinds of buildings are in Union Square?
Three-family houses are the most common building type, followed closely by two-families and small four-to-nine unit buildings. Most listings are a floor of a wood-frame house. Newer mixed-use construction has gone up around the station since the Green Line arrived, which is where most of the elevator and step-free listings in the neighborhood come from.
What sizes of apartment are most common in Union Square?
Union Square has the most balanced size mix of the Somerville neighborhoods covered here. Two-bedrooms lead, but studios, one-bedrooms and three-bedroom-plus units are all regularly available, which is not true of Winter Hill or Teele Square. That makes it a practical place to search if your bedroom count is flexible.
What is the history of Union Square?
Prospect Hill, immediately above the square, was a fortified position in the Continental Army's siege of Boston, and on January 1, 1776 George Washington ordered the Grand Union Flag raised there. The granite Prospect Hill Tower was built on the site in 1903 to mark it, and Somerville still raises the flag there each New Year's Day. Parts of the hill were cut down in 1872 and the fill was used to build up the land that is now Union Square.
What is there to do in Union Square?
The square carries a dense concentration of restaurants, bars and small shops for its size, along with a long-running seasonal farmers market. Bow Market, a courtyard of small independent businesses off Somerville Avenue, sits a block from the square. Prospect Hill Park is a short climb up for the tower and one of the better views of the Boston skyline.
How do I find no-broker-fee apartments in Union Square?
The newer buildings near the station lease directly more often than the wood-frame houses on the surrounding streets, so the no-broker-fee filter will tend to cluster your results geographically. A fee is normally one month's rent, alongside first month, last month and a security deposit.