Change will come to Western Avenue next year after a ruling Sept. 4 by the Cambridge Historical Commission that a family can sell its A.J. Spears Funeral Home property to a developer for demolition and replacement with an apartment building.
While the proposed design meets zoning guidelines, some neighbors are still frustrated at the scale of the project. The planned building will be up to 74 units, 20 percent of which would be affordable.
The commission voted 6-1 to deem the current buildings “not preferably preserved,” with alternate Scott Kyle the lone opposing vote. Some members shared concerns with residents about a new six-story structure but acknowledged that the issues were irrelevant to the commission’s mission: evaluating the historical value of the existing funeral home.
“The house looks the same as every other on the street. The historical part is us, and the people we’ve served,” said co-owner and funeral director Anthony Spears. The home has been a long-standing institution for members of Riverside’s Black community.
The date of sale to developer DND Homes is not final; the business will stay open and operating until sometime in 2026.
Spears family in Cambridge
The commission estimates that the buildings between 122-132 Western Ave. were built sometime between 1850 and 1860. In 1964, they were bought by Andrew and Artis Spears to open the funeral home. The business is owned by Artis as well as her and Andrew’s children, Anthony and Andrea. Andrew Spears died in 2013.
Artis and Anthony have run the home as a mother-son operation for about 30 years, with Anthony serving as funeral director. Upon the business’ impending closing, Anthony intends to continue his work in funerary services as a consultant for other area homes.
Beyond operating the funeral home, the Spears have had a long family history of being active in local affairs. Lawyer Andrea Spears Jackson served as chief adviser to the Massachusetts secretary of transportation and as chair of the Cambridge License Commission before moving to North Carolina in 2015, while Artis Spears had a 28-year run as a Cambridge elections commissioner. The City Council passed a resolution in 2022 celebrating her 90th birthday, calling her a “a truly beloved member of the Cambridge community.” Now 93, Artis still plays an active role in operating the funeral home.
Anthony Spears began considering selling the home after experiencing a fall three years ago. While he recovered, the experience left him wanting to make sure he and his family were set for life financially. Spears approached DND Homes directly after seeing their work on a nearby building.
“DND buildings have improved our neighborhood. That is why I chose to work with them,” Anthony Spears said, offering special thanks to local property attorney Patrick Barrett for aiding the process. The company “follows every law, to the letter of the law,” Spears said.
Neighbors’ concerns
While neighbors expressed support for the Spears as a family, many used a public comment period to protest the design of the resulting project, which they see as invasive and out of character for the neighborhood.
“I feel like I’m literally being squeezed out of my house at this point,” said Jennifer Brill, who lives in a property abutting the Spears’. The proposed project would put her home in near permanent shadow and be invasive to her privacy, given how close the structure would be to the property line, she said, complaining that “it does not feel DND put the time and effort into coming back with something creative and contextually sensitive.”
According to DND’s application, the proposed building would cast additional shadow onto Brill’s home during certain times of the year.
Another neighbor shared concern over the impact on the neighborhood.
“While we’re not direct butters, the project will have significant impact on us,” Nancy Carpenter said. “Not only because of the size of the building, lack of parking and increased congestion it will cause, but because of its scale, planned density and lack of green spaces, [which are] greatly at odds with the character of the neighborhood.”
DND’s proposed project as planned is in accordance with zoning regulations for buildings of its size. These include setting aside units for affordable housing and meeting the city’s Green Building Requirements.
Not all Cambridge residents were opposed to the project.
“I support letting the Spears family move forward,” meeting attendee Justin Saif said. “Requiring preservation over their objection here does not honor Cambridge’s or their legacy. It traps Cambridge in the past, unable to grow or build a future full of more residents and new achievements just as important as those that came before.”
“This isn’t the place”
While some commission members shared the grievances of Riversiders, they acknowledged that concerns about zoning were ultimately irrelevant to the task at hand – evaluating whether the Spears’ home and workplace should be preserved against their wishes.
“I hate this project,” commission member Gavin Kleespies said, but “whether or not I hate this project is not really the purview of the commission … I mean, we’re evaluating the historical value of the buildings that are being lost in light of the proposed replacement, in the context of a city that has now passed zoning ordinances that allow this building essentially to be built whether we like it or not.”
Kleespies was frustrated that the Historical Commission has turned into the only venue where constituents could voice opposition to new buildings.
“We’ve been put into a position where we’re occupying a role that we’re not really supposed to be occupying … This isn’t the place to have that battle. The place to have this battle is in November,” Kleespies said, referring to upcoming City Council elections.
Chair Chandra Harrington also voted against preferred preservation, saying that it was more important to preserve the history of the Spearses than the buildings they occupy.
“There is a lot of potential wealth in that history that we can bring forward one way or another,” she said, referring to options for oral history projects. “In my mind, it’s really the history that was lived there.”
The Spearses were relieved. Anthony Spears said in an interview after the vote that he has no hard feelings for the commission, despite the delay, saying “they made the right decision and treated us fairly.”
A.J. Spears Funeral Home will remain open and is accepting requests for services. It is unclear when the buildings will be demolished.
This post was updated with a note about the proposed development’s shadow study results
A stronger
Please consider making a financial contribution to maintain, expand and improve Cambridge Day.
We are now a 501(c)3 nonprofit and all donations are tax deductible.
Please consider a recurring contribution.
The developer conducted a shadow study which showed that it won’t cast additional shadows on Ms. Brill’s property. Abutters undermine their own credibility when they lay out baseless objections.
It’s good to see zoning reform producing new housing, including affordable units. What’s disheartening is neighbors opposing it for petty reasons.
Shadows? Privacy? Homeowners don’t own the sky, and privacy ends at your property line. It doesn’t extend onto someone else’s.
Ms. Brill expressed concern that the new development would cast her residence in “near permanent shadow”. But an analysis indicates the project will not increase shadowing on her property??
False claims can hinder productive public discourse. Journalists should verify such statements. Accurate reporting supports informed community decision-making. Disinformation hurts.