Issue: Zoning & Development
Mass Ave Planning Study (MAPS)
The Mass Ave Planning Study (MAPS), spearheaded by the Cambridge Community Development Department (CDD), is creating a plan for what Massachusetts Avenue between Alewife Brook Parkway and Cambridge Common. This covers issues such as building height, use, density, and dimensional and design standards.
1826 and 1840 Mass Ave
The nonprofit developer Just A Start has acquired the parking lots located at 1826 and 1840 Mass Ave near Porter Square. They plan to build multi-family affordable housing. The plans are still being defined as they build their project team.
2072 Mass Avenue
The local development team of Capstone Communities LLC and Hope Real Estate Enterprises LLC (Capstone/Hope) are planning a new 100% affordable housing rental development at 2072 Massachusetts Avenue near Porter Square and Walden Street.
The developers are still actively working on plans and welcome feedback from the community.
They are planning to host a second community meeting in late March 2025. This meeting will provide an opportunity to share updates on the project’s design and planning progress and gather additional input from the community.
Multi-Family Zoning
The Cambridge City Council voted on February 10 to approved a new zoning ordinance for multi-family housing city-wide.
Applies the same C-1 Zoning throughout the city. Areas of Neighborhood Nine that were exclusively zoned for single-family homes can now include multi-family structures.
Allows residential building heights up to four stories, or up to six stories if the project meets inclusionary housing requirements (20% affordable) and the lot size is at least 5,000 square feet.
No longer sets a minimum lot size, maximum number of units, or maximum amount of floor area for housing. Setback requirements are also reduced.