Cambridge Infill and Small Developments

[Equilibria]

The whole exchange in that Cambridge Day article is hilarious:

Six-story development in historic neighborhood raises concerns for residents along Ellery Street

The first project following Cambridge’s landmark multifamily zoning reform in February gives a hint at conflicts to come, as a Mid-Cambridge neighborhood comes to grips with construction of a six-story building.

www.cambridgeday.com

Yeah, I found that quote pretty great. It basically comes down to "yeah, I realize that you can build large multifamily housing in the whole city, but I should be able to stop it from happening on my street". It might be the most NIMBY thing ever said.

 

[JS38]

"almost 15" lol the rest of the people who support this and needed growth in the city have jobs & lives! And theyre complaining about the design, have they seen the schlock built elsewhere this one looks great! You have no right to no change around you forever when you buy a property, maybe we just need to wait some years for these dinosaurs to die, NIMBYS get rekt!

 

[Javier]

 

[stick n move]

View attachment 64521View attachment 64522View attachment 64523

Heres a clearer render

 

[RandomWalk]

That is very similar to Frost Terrace up Mass Ave

 

[stick n move]

Cambridge steps in to raze Riverview condos; Adjacent roads close Saturday for public safety - Cambridge Day

Cambridge plans to take over demolition of Riverview Condominiums, the 66-unit building where dangerous structural issues were discovered.

www.cambridgeday.com

 

[Javier]

 

[bigpicture7]

The saga on Ellery continues to move foward:

Ellery Street six-story apartment building advances with reminders of passed zoning (updated)

Demolition and construction of a six-story apartment building at 60 Ellery St. falling under recent multifamily zoning reforms was moved along with a 4-1 approval by a Mid-Cambridge conservation commission.

www.cambridgeday.com

Demolition and construction of a six-story apartment building at 60 Ellery St. falling under recent multifamily zoning reforms was moved along with a 4-1 approval Monday by the Mid-Cambridge Neighborhood Conservation District Commission, contingent on a follow-up meeting to review final improvements to the design.

The developer seems to have accommodated a reasonable amount of design feedback. Meanwhile, the usual entertaining volley of public comments ensued...

 

[FormFollowsBudget]

The saga on Ellery continues to move foward:

Ellery Street six-story apartment building advances with reminders of passed zoning (updated)

Demolition and construction of a six-story apartment building at 60 Ellery St. falling under recent multifamily zoning reforms was moved along with a 4-1 approval by a Mid-Cambridge conservation commission.

www.cambridgeday.com

The developer seems to have accommodated a reasonable amount of design feedback. Meanwhile, the usual entertaining volley of public comments ensued...

I feel the bottom portion has gotten worse this round, and the top is better this time.

 

[stick n move]

The saga on Ellery continues to move foward:

Ellery Street six-story apartment building advances with reminders of passed zoning (updated)

Demolition and construction of a six-story apartment building at 60 Ellery St. falling under recent multifamily zoning reforms was moved along with a 4-1 approval by a Mid-Cambridge conservation commission.

www.cambridgeday.com

The developer seems to have accommodated a reasonable amount of design feedback. Meanwhile, the usual entertaining volley of public comments ensued...

From the article

 

[Equilibria]

Doesn't look any more out of place than the big apartment buildings further down Ellery...

 

[stick n move]

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[Charlie_mta]

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Looks good. The one odd feature is the stepdown of the roof on the left half of the building, putting it close to the windows. Don't know what's up with that, but I suppose it adds interest to the design.

 

[sm89]

The saga on Ellery continues to move foward:

Ellery Street six-story apartment building advances with reminders of passed zoning (updated)

Demolition and construction of a six-story apartment building at 60 Ellery St. falling under recent multifamily zoning reforms was moved along with a 4-1 approval by a Mid-Cambridge conservation commission.

www.cambridgeday.com

The developer seems to have accommodated a reasonable amount of design feedback. Meanwhile, the usual entertaining volley of public comments ensued...

What is the elusive 84 Ellery proposal that apparently everyone was also up in arms about (and is dead?), yet seemingly no information exists online?

 

[Stlin]

Looks good. The one odd feature is the stepdown of the roof on the left half of the building, putting it close to the windows. Don't know what's up with that, but I suppose it adds interest to the design.

Its because it's not a new building, it's a limited renovation of the existing structure.

The CRA bought the ground floor retail section as the first part of its Neighborhood Storefronts plan to create affordable retail space in the city - its getting converted into 4-5 storefronts. The main reason for the public meetings is, well, it's a Cambridge publicly funded project.

On January 27,2025 the CRA acquired 4,500 square feet of ground floor space and 2,100 square feet of basement space at 1175 Cambridge Street to be the first location for the CRA’s Neighborhood Storefronts Project. Over the next year, the CRA plans to convert the ground floor space into a series of in-line storefronts for locally owned independent retail businesses.

On September 24, 2024 the CRA had the opportunity to share information and get ideas about the CRA’s Neighborhood Storefronts Project at the East Cambridge Business Alliance’s Smoke This Rib Festival. Over the course of the festival, CRA staff were able to converse with community members around what makes Cambridge Street special to locals and visitors, types of new establishments that would be well suited for the corridor, and how retail establishments can have a greater community connection.

The Neighborhood Storefronts project — Cambridge Redevelopment Authority

1175 Cambridge St Cambridge, MA 02139

www.cambridgeredevelopment.org

 

[pfd12]

What is the elusive 84 Ellery proposal that apparently everyone was also up in arms about (and is dead?), yet seemingly no information exists online?

The Mid Cambridge Neighborhood Conservation District Commission's webpage is here and has links to the applications they recently reviewed/are upcoming for review, and here is the 84 Ellery application.

 

[22marc]

The Mid Cambridge Neighborhood Conservation District Commission's webpage is here and has links to the applications they recently reviewed/are upcoming for review, and here is the 84 Ellery application.

I don't blame them... were they trying to emulate the 80s dental office look?

 

[RandomWalk]

The black pseudo-mansard for the top two floors makes it look like ChatGPT generated the design from a prompt requesting something inspired by the existing building.

 

[bigpicture7]

The Bertucci's building on Main Street between Central & Kendall just sold at auction. This is a good location. Maybe something will happen here?

Ex-Bertucci's near Central Square sells for $5.8M, auctioned with site of Cloud & Spirits event space - Cambridge Day

The starting price at 793-805 Main St., Cambridge, was $5 million. When no one bit, an auctioneer reset at $4 million and the price rose by increments to nearly $6 million – including two commercial spaces, parking and a billboard.

www.cambridgeday.com

 

[RandomWalk]

I assume it will get a 5-over-1 mixed use.