West Cambridge / Alewife Area Infill & Small Developments

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The Pathmark, behind the North Cambridge Carhouse, is making glacial progress. It appears to be using real wood, instead of just Hardie plank.
 
^ That has been painfully slow. At times I've questioned if the money had dried up..
 
I hope at least two pedestrian bridges over the Fitchburg Division. one east of Alewife Brook Pkwy, and the other west of Alewife Brook Pkwy, get built. The area really needs those for access to the Red Line station and to Danehy Park..
 
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Area desperately needs more ground level amenities like bars and restaurants. You basically have to leave this area to find anything resembling social activity.
 
393b40 said:
Area desperately needs more ground level amenities like bars and restaurants. You basically have to leave this area to find anything resembling social activity.
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Oddly enough the area used to have a good amount of restaurants which have been wiped out by development during the last 50 years.
 
Davis holds topping off ceremony at 101 Smith Place, Cambridge, MA
March 24, 2023 - Construction Design & Engineering
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“Cambridge, MA The Davis Companies (Davis) celebrated the topping off of a new 161,616 s/f class A lab development at 101 Smith Place. The development is one of four buildings that comprise The Quad life science campus, West Cambridge’s newest hub for innovation and creative thinking.

Situated with access to Alewife Station, the property marks Phase II of The Quad’s master plan, which Davis is developing in partnership with Invesco Real Estate, a global real estate investment manager. The project is expected to be delivered in Q4 2023.

“The opportunity to develop a multi-building campus in the City of Cambridge is truly unique, and we are thrilled to add this state-of-the-art class A facility to our 9.8-acre life science park,” said Davis’ chief portfolio management officer Cappy Daume. “Tenants and the community were at the forefront of our campus design process, to accommodate a wide range of companies that value being in Cambridge, require convenient access to public transportation and are looking to attract top-tier talent.”
https://nerej.com/davis-holds-topping-off-ceremony-at-101-smith-place-cambridge-ma
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Equilibria said:
Some new content from the Zoning Working Group and Healthpeak:


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It will be fascinating to see whether this turns into a 30-year/never-to-be-realized vision now that the Federal Reserve has turned off the biotech funny money spigot.
 
Charlie_mta said:
I hope at least two pedestrian bridges over the Fitchburg Division. one east of Alewife Brook Pkwy, and the other west of Alewife Brook Pkwy, get built. The area really needs those for access to the Red Line station and to Danehy Park..
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Perhaps Cambridge could use some of the money it currently spends on having ultra low property taxes on building these bridges instead of pretending a developer will.
 
curcuas said:
Perhaps Cambridge could use some of the money it currently spends on having ultra low property taxes on building these bridges instead of pretending a developer will.
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I agree. The dense housing projects on the north side of the Fitchburg line (off of Rindge Ave) really need access to Danehy Park, and obviously all the development in the Fawcett Street area needs access to the Alewife Red Line station. Due to its small town attitude, Cambridge has always been very lax and tone deaf about infrastructure development, but it needs to start acting like a real city.
 
Charlie_mta said:
I agree. The dense housing projects on the north side of the Fitchburg line (off of Rindge Ave) really need access to Danehy Park, and obviously all the development in the Fawcett Street area needs access to the Alewife Red Line station. Due to its small town attitude, Cambridge has always been very lax and tone deaf about infrastructure development, but it needs to start acting like a real city.
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Acting like what real city? I don't think Boston would be building these bridges either...
 
Equilibria said:
Acting like what real city? I don't think Boston would be building these bridges either...
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I was thinking NYC or Chicago, although Boston has also been pretty robust in it's infrastructure development. I love Cambridge and grew up there, but it's always seemed like a small town to me, which has its good points.
 
That was a little before my time, but I do remember the shopping center next door had a Zayre's and a Woolworth (I think) and if I was really well-behaved, my mom would get me a hot dog at the lunch counter in the middle of the store. Ok, I think I have derailed this thread enough. ;)

Charlie_mta said:
If you grew up in the area, do you remember Donuts Please, which was at the site of the Alewife Red Line station? I had family mambers who worked there and I used to hang out there as well.
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Czervik.Construction said:
That was a little before my time, but I do remember the shopping center next door had a Zayre's and a Woolworth (I think) and if I was really well-behaved, my mom would get me a hot dog at the lunch counter in the middle of the store. Ok, I think I have derailed this thread enough. ;)
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It's probably not too much of a thread derail, as it is the history of the area, and gives some context on the amenities that used to be more prevalent.
 
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