Changes to neighborhood conservation districts approved after lengthy conflict and negotiation (corrected)
A debate begun before the Covid pandemic reached a landmark as Cambridge’s City Council accepted changes about the forming and running of Neighborhood Conservation Districts, boards that consider developments and reconstruction in architecturally significant neighborhoods.
Proposed labs in East Somerville would be homes as the wishes of neighbors match a market trend
A former lab project in East Somerville will become residential instead because of objections to proposed height and traffic impacts at neighborhood meetings, said developers at hearings about 45-51 Broadway. But lab projects are seeing a regionwide slowdown.
New take on Walden Square affordable addition doesn’t win over all on its way to Planning Board
Revised plans for Walden Square II call for two scaled-down buildings instead of one large structure and address other complaints, but WinnDevelopment still faces opposition from presentations held for residents.
Innovation space rules at Volpe get a 2023 update meant to keep growing companies from leaving
The needs of innovators in Cambridge have changed since plans for the Volpe parcel were set in Kendall Square, and on Thursday the Planning Board acknowledged it with relief for MIT. Also: Development news in Harvard Square and in Somerville near its Assembly and Union squares.
On a 90-degree day, Somerville city councilors consider a green roof law for certain buildings
Public comment is being taken about possible requirements for “vegetated roofs” on new or substantially renovated mid-rise, high-rise and commercial buildings.
Parking lot OK’d by council for $8.3M purchase, affordable housing or DPW uses looking likely
With the money freed by a 7-0 vote and another vote taken immediately to remove the possibility of reconsideration, the friendly land-taking of 41 Bellis Circle should be done within the next week, followed by a process on its future use.
Parking lot now unused by Montessori school could be bought this summer by city for $8.3M
Cambridge is proposing to buy just under an acre of parking lot near Fresh Pond – the second parking lot the city is looking to buy and the third parcel in the area.
Pot shop Botanica is caught in regulatory maze trying to open doors in Somerville’s Ball Square
A proposed cannabis retail shop called Botanica has once again hit a snag in Somerville’s municipal process; a Medford Street housing project is approved; and more in a development wrap-up.
Memo by Somerville planners cuts lab use in half, ending building once proposed for Porter Square
A proposal for a four-story building in Porter Square is dead after a planning memo limited how much square footage could be used for lab or R&D space.
Structure with affordable housing could blend more with its neighborhood, developer hears
A proposed six-story addition to a Massachusetts Avenue mansion that would hold affordable housing drew critiques for not fitting in well with the neighborhood, but the project was mainly welcomed by residents and Cambridge’s Planning Board.
