Buildings could go as high as 22 stories along Massachusetts Avenue and Main Street in a Central Square rezoning that could begin drafting in October and reach the Cambridge City Council by April, planners said at a July meeting.
The process beginning in the fall will help decide things such as automatically allowed building height, with one idea raised being to allow taller buildings only if that additional height is used for housing.
It’s part of three options described at a July 17 community meeting run by the Community Development Department, sparked by a council order in February that identified Central Square as ripe for housing construction – “well positioned to accommodate a mix of uses and increased density as a primary MBTA transportation hub connected to local and regional job centers and amenities.”
One of the goals of the rezoning was to take advantage of studies and planning back to 2011’s Mayor’s Red Ribbon Commission on the Delights and Concerns of Central Square, including the one that followed, called C2. It also takes note of recent construction, such as the 19-story Watermark Central, approved by the council in 2015.
“How tall should we allow new housing to be? We’ve developed three ideas,” said Evan Spetrini, associate zoning planner. “The first one is to realize the C2 recommendations which would allow for 12 stories. We could reflect recent development and allow for 16 to 18 stories. Or we can go taller and allow for 18 to 22 stories.”
Taller buildings have positives and negatives, Spetrini noted. Each idea includes active ground-floor uses, but he called it “important to note that the taller concepts will be able to leverage the increased amount of housing to subsidize more retail and cultural uses on the bottom floors.” Taller buildings can also lead to more shadows and wind for neighbors.
There are other potential tradeoffs as well. Incentivizing green infrastructure and flood resiliency leads to higher development costs, which can lead to higher rents. More public and cultural spaces may require additional subsidies or incentives from the city to compensate for lost income from rent. Dedicated artist space means less housing for non-artists.
Different parts of Central Square may be given different allowable heights in a rezoning to provide a better transition to lower-density abutting communities, Spetrini said.
The borders of Central Square are being discussed for possible expansion. In one scenario planners proposed to gather thoughts, Central Square would grow westward to Hancock Street from its current border at the area around City Hall.
Community members attending were divided into breakout rooms to discuss. Talks afterward included reports that most people in a group supported buildings of 18 to 22 stories, but wanted to make sure taller buildings aren’t eyesores. Another group wanted to see a 100 percent affordable housing project.
It was acknowledged almost universally that more housing, whether affordable or not, is important to add to Central Square.
Some residents are suspicious of the project. “This seems a top-down process – where was the community demand for this particular initiative at this time? And is this truly a community-based and driven process?” James Williamson asked. Another commenter, Larry Kolodney, also suspected the discussion was being driven by developers, saying, “Why can’t the city spend its own money for achieving public purposes rather than distorting zoning to incentivize private capital?”
There will be a third community meeting Sept. 12. Details about the project are on the city website.
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that continues to be the question. who initiates these proposals when it is developers, council and CDD who are driving this bus? A lot of these decisions seem arbitrary– like some kind of board game. And Hancock St.- a small street of workers cottages and vintage multi-families– is hardly an appropriate demarcation for Central Sq sky scrapers. It is also in a Conservation District- but we all know that means nothing now thanks to council and CDD co-conspirators and their disregard of Cambridge residential fabric. how many more layers of conflicting zoning are we going to have to endure?
So these are the three choices being considered? “The first one is to realize the C2 recommendations which would allow for 12 stories. We could reflect recent development and allow for 16 to 18 stories. Or we can go taller and allow for 18 to 22 stories.”
It depends WHERE and HOW. other wise, Central Sq is becoming the bedroom community for Kendell Sq. No one will be able to afford it anyway. What happened to the original 4-, 6-, 8- stories and 12 with variance?
who decides? the developers?
Serial misinformationalists ™ often distract from the real conversation that has been begging for attention for nearly four decades. Some of the numbers do seem arbitrary; 22 stories? Why not 32? Or 24? Or 18? Many were very pleased with themselves when C2 perished in a wave of political cowardice but many of us knew that what was once 14-16 stories would eventually come back and mean much higher buildings. The pressure has been built up over several generations and to the neighborhood groups and activists who fought to block all these proposals I say … thank you. Now we will see the heights we need, build housing, entertainment infrastructure, and resurrect the true center of Cambridge. Let’s hope that CDD and the council and the planning board don’t get scared of their own shadows again. Fun.
I don’t see any reason why buildings dedicated to housing can’t be taller than 22 stories in Central Square. If a developer wants to build above a certain height in the square I’d love to see a generous amount of that building being gifted to arts and cultural space or to require some sort of other community benefit – a couple of floors for subsidized artist live/work units, practice rooms, gallery space, etc.
Once again we must ask what will be done to improve the infrastructure to house double the population.
What is our goal?
Why is it only on mass ave? Why can’t I build a fourth story on my triple decker?
We’re never to house the whole region. Until the region fixes housing Cambridge will be unaffordable. Wake up people.