The MBTA opened its first subway station in more than a quarter-century on Tuesday morning at Somerville’s Assembly Square, the site of a massive redevelopment effort that could draw thousands of new residents.
The new Orange Line stop — between the Wellington and Sullivan Square stations — was formally dedicated in the afternoon.
The MBTA estimates that the $29 million station, known as Assembly Station, will serve about 5,000 riders a day by 2030. That’s about the same amount of traffic as the nearby Community College Orange Line stop has today but less than the ridership at Wellington and Sullivan Square.
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The station is being paid for though a partnership between the state, federal agencies, and the developer of the neighboring mixed-use Assembly Row project.
The builder, Federal Realty Investment Trust of Maryland, says the $1.5 billion redevelopment of a former Ford Motor plant is one of the largest construction projects underway on the East Coast.
The company also built the adjacent Assembly Square Marketplace, which includes a TJ Maxx ‘N More, Staples, and Bed, Bath & Beyond.
No MBTA subway stations have come online since 1987, when the southern portion of the Orange Line shifted from the Washington Street elevated to the Southwest Corridor.
Andy Rosen can be reached at andrew.rosen@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter at @andyrosen.