After years of gentrification pressures, the median home price in East Cambridge – a traditionally blue-collar neighborhood close to Harvard University, MIT, and Boston’s financial district – had, by the end of 2008, effectively priced most local residents out of the housing market.
Recognizing the need for more affordable living options near transit, this urban infill project proposes 40 rental units (23 market rate, 17 affordable at 60% AMI) on a compact 14,250 sq. ft. site. It also features a modest groundfloor retail component designed to capitalize upon pedestrian activity generated by the local “T” station entrance less than 300 feet away. A historic building on the existing site, occupied by Citizens Bank, is preserved, with the scale and massing of the project intended to respect the local neighborhood context.
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