Re: NorthPoint Cambridge (The one that was train yards, the big plan.)
I feel you Tangent.
But for the sake of discussion, here's where I think Cambridge's head's is at vis a vis Northpoint:
Cambridge has 23rd lowest residential prop tax rate in Massachusetts. That ranking could easily double "best places to vacation in Massachusetts" listicle. We're talking Chilmark, Aquinnah, Edgartown, West Tisbury, Truro, Wellfleet, Nantucket, etc... Of the 22 towns with lower R/O rates, the only two that crest over 10,000 residents are Dennis and Nantucket and Cambridge is 1.7x the size of those 22 towns combined. Cambridge's tax levy has the largest of CIP share of any major city in the Commonwealth. Yes Boston and Everett are not far behind, but there's something else: Cambridge has one of the highest excess levy capacities in the state, it only collects about 74% of the allowable levy (and Mass has very tight restrictions on those levies). Boston collects near-all the money it possibly can, Everett leaves a fraction on the table too, but it's excess capacity rate has been shrinking for the past decade while Cambridge's has been rising precipitously. Nearly all other communities in Metro Boston collect the full sum, Cambridge is pretty unique in this regard - the only other places with similarly high levels of excess capacity are industrial towns and rural, Western Mass villages. There's certainly no other town in Mass that's able to parlay "modern" industries' into low residential rates.
Low property rates didn't instigate Cambridge's turn around, but you can be well-assured that Cantabs want to keep those rates as low as fucking possible. A substantial increase in residents can put pressure on the current tax regime - it doesn't have to be that way, but the city's going to be thinking about the cost of municipal services: education being numero uno as Cambridge spends the most per student in Massachusetts. It's easily the largest line item in the budget - a new development could bring the specter of families and thus children. It's sorta screwed up incentive, but schools cost cities a lot of money so families are not necessarily the most..."desired" groups (for example: Brookline).
A new, super-dense development could pay the increased costs in municipal services and would be a sorely needed improvement for the regional economy and housing market, but anything that risks low rates in Cambridge is going to be a fight. Combine that with the already conservative nature of development in the People's Republic...I think a supertall (or fuck it, just reasonably tall) is DOA, however unfortunate that is.
