In Cambridge, Massachusetts, where housing costs continue to weigh on residents, a new state financing round is pushing two affordable developments closer to construction.
The city's share of the package totals $18.2 million, according to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC), and it will support projects on Wendell Street and at Corcoran Park.
Here's what to know
According to Cambridge Day, Cambridge was among 20 communities included in Governor Maura Healey's statewide affordable housing funding round totaling $276 million, and it was one of five to receive financing for more than one development.
EOHLC said the two Cambridge awards together are expected to create 162 affordable rental units.
State housing officials said Homeowners Rehab Inc. is planning 95 newly built homes for families and seniors at 28-30 Wendell Street, near Lesley University.
At Corcoran Park in Strawberry Hill, which is owned by the Cambridge Housing Alliance, the second award is intended for the first phase of redevelopment. EOHLC Press Secretary Tara Smith told Cambridge Day that about $5.6 million is slated for that opening phase. CHA plans to tear down a flood-prone 29-unit building and replace it with 67 new apartments and townhomes.
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In a press release, City Manager Yi-An Huang said, "In Cambridge, affordable housing has long been a top priority. We have made tremendous progress through innovative zoning reform and significant funding commitments, but none of it would be possible without crucial funding support from the Commonwealth."
More background
Despite pressure on the state budget, Cambridge Day reported that EOHLC awards were the largest in more than a decade.
Each Cambridge project had already completed zoning through the city's Affordable Housing Overlay process, which is designed to encourage fully affordable buildings by allowing them to exceed typical height limits.
In an interview with Cambridge Day, Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui said, "Governor Healey has been very committed around making this a priority. It's just exciting. I think this is exactly where money should be going… When we're prioritizing budgets, we should prioritize housing, especially affordable housing."
What's being done?
EOHLC said the state's financing approach pairs subsidies with state and federal tax credits.
Tara Smith, an EOHLC press secretary, told Cambridge Day that about $12.6 million in total financing is expected to support construction of the 95-unit development on Wendell Street. Phase one at Corcoran Park would replace the 29-unit building with 67 new apartments and townhomes.
According to the press release, the awards put both developments on track to start construction in 2027.
"This has been something that [CHA] has been wanting to redevelop for quite some time. These units were built in the early 1950s," Siddiqui said of the Corcoran Park project. "The redevelopment, it's just so important for that community."
Where can I learn more?
Cambridge's new housing financing lands in the middle of wider debates in Massachusetts over how public money shapes buildings, neighborhoods and infrastructure. Elsewhere in the state and beyond, similar pressures are showing up in fights over spending priorities, contested development and the cost of upgrades.
• The Massachusetts Senate advanced a bill promising $14 billion in energy savings as heat climbed past 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Nationally, officials awarded $190 million for school upgrades aimed at cleaner, more efficient public buildings.
• In Concord, plans for a rooftop solar project continued despite the loss of a $1.4 million grant.
• In Westfield, residents pushed for a data center moratorium as opposition to a $4 billion proposal grew.
Housing decisions like Cambridge's do not happen in isolation; they compete with other demands for land, subsidies and resilient construction. That broader backdrop helps explain why the city's $18.2 million award carries weight.
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