West Cambridge / Alewife Area Infill & Small Developments

That’s better than the hybrid approach with self storage. However, shoving all the affordable units into large blocks is very NIMBY.
 
Equilibria said:
Another cookie-cutter housing dump on New Street. At least it's 100% affordable. JAS are the good guys.

52 New Street - CDD - City of Cambridge, Massachusetts

Just A Start (JAS) is proposing the new construction of 106 units of affordable housing on an underutilized parcel immediately adjacent to Danehy Park in North Cambridge.
www.cambridgema.gov www.cambridgema.gov

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A lot of low-income families with kids will be crammed into that large building on a small lot. I hope a playground is established near by for the kids. There is one on the other end of Danehy Park, quite a long way from there.
 
Charlie_mta said:
A lot of low-income families with kids will be crammed into that large building on a small lot. I hope a playground is established near by for the kids. There is one on the other end of Danehy Park, quite a long way from there.
Click to expand...
But it makes the NIMBYS in nearby Belmont feel good about themselves so 🤷🏽‍♂️
 
Full rebuild coming for CHA Jefferson Park:

Jefferson Park - Federal - CDD - City of Cambridge, Massachusetts

Jefferson Park Federal site consists of 175 formerly federally funded public housing apartments located near the Alewife MTBA station in North Cambridge.
www.cambridgema.gov www.cambridgema.gov

Would be nice to consider some sort of cross-track connection to Fresh Pond Mall at the back of this site. Ped bridge or underpass - I think it was discussed upthread. Maybe Cambridge can get a bulk deal on pedestrian bridge components. Doesn't seem it would be the only thing they're buying in bulk here...

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I like that in phase 1 they aligned the street grid so it connects in phase 2. One of the MOST important things that is so often overlooked is reconnecting the street grid. I think it should be step 1, if the street grid is crap everything else that comes after will not be up to its potential. In the days when Savannah, DC, Chicago etc were built masterplanning a city basically meant creating a great street grid and the rest will take care of itself and fill in over time.
 
Equilibria said:
Full rebuild coming for CHA Jefferson Park:
View attachment 18222
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Wow, the lower left corner of that render is exactly where I grew up, from 1955 to 1967. However, there was at least twice the amount of open space in the old Jefferson Park "projects" compared to this new development. I don't like the idea of cramming all low-income people into a massive high-density development like this. A mix of market rate and low income units would be healthier for society at large and for the people there. When is this country ever going to learn that cramming all the poor people off into a high density, isolated development is a bad idea? Crime, gangs, drugs, guns; it will all happen here. I know because I lived here, and this will be worse. Seeing this kind of breaks my heart, really.
 
Charlie_mta said:
Wow, the lower left corner of that render is exactly where I grew up, from 1955 to 1967. However, there was at least twice the amount of open space in the old Jefferson Park "projects" compared to this new development. I don't like the idea of cramming all low-income people into a massive high-density development like this. A mix of market rate and low income units would be healthier for society at large and for the people there. When is this country ever going to learn that cramming all the poor people off into a high density, isolated development is a bad idea? Crime, gangs, drugs, guns; it will all happen here. I know because I lived here, and this will be worse. Seeing this kind of breaks my heart, really.
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Is this kind of density that different from what the high-income people are getting down the street on CambridgePark Drive, though? I get the argument for multi-income housing.
 
Equilibria said:
Is this kind of density that different from what the high-income people are getting down the street on CambridgePark Drive, though? I get the argument for multi-income housing.
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Cramming poor families on top of one another with minimal outdoor space is different than cramming upper income people. The lower income families generally have children more than the upper income people, and they have more challenges and problems in life. They have fewer resources and opportunities to do things away from their apartment. When I lived in Jefferson Park in the 1950s, it wasn't fun, and that layout then was way less dense than this proposal. There were several playgrounds and a lot of open space in the old Jefferson Park there that I lived in. A lot of that will be gone with this new development. This proposal horrifies me, to say the least. It will really have an impact on North Cambridge with increased crime, shootings, drugs, etc.
 
The Jefferson Park proposal adds a 100 apartments to the current number, about 400 more people at 4 people/apartment.

Here are comparison birds-eye views of the existing vs. the proposed. More density for the poor people:

51634753058_4baa9ed17c_c.jpg
 
Charlie_mta said:
A lot of low-income families with kids will be crammed into that large building on a small lot. I hope a playground is established near by for the kids. There is one on the other end of Danehy Park, quite a long way from there.
Click to expand...

It looks like there's a new playground called Cambridge Universal Playground that is right around the corner. There's also an indoor kids area across the street called Imagine Playspace but that costs money.

www.google.com

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.
www.google.com www.google.com
 
Cabot, Cabot and Forbes have bailed on their Quadrangle:


Per B&T, here's what Healthpeak has assembled:

Log In - Banker & Tradesman

Gain Insight and Intelligence Keep abreast of significant real estate, banking and financial developments in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Make smart business decisions with the most comprehensive property and transaction information available anywhere to help you spot trends, generate leads...
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Equilibria said:
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It's insane how there's no footbridge from the ever increasingly dense developments south of the Fitchburg Line to the MBTA Alewife Station on the north. The whole area north and south of the Fitchburg Line looks like an unplanned mishmash of density being thrown up quickly with no amenities such as pocket parks, pedestrian/ bike trails, or even a logical street system. And a few areas of reclaimed wetlands would have been nice for stormwater control and aesthetics. Of course that would have cut into the cheek-to-jowl cramming in of buildings on every squares foot of the area.
 
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