The city of Cambridge will convert the Sacred Heart church rectory and school in East Cambridge into 46 units of affordable housing by the winter of 2027, state Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities secretary Ed Augustus and Cambridge vice mayor Marc McGovern said at a press conference Wednesday.
The project, called The Rose on Sixth Street, is the result of a partnership between the city and the nonprofit Preservation of Affordable Housing.
The building at 49 Sixth St. is intended to serve tenants with a range of incomes below 80 percent of area median income, including eight apartments reserved for those earning below 30 percent of the area median income and classified as at risk of homelessness, according to a press release from the city. The building is being developed under the city’s 2020 zoning ordinance Affordable Housing Overlay, intended to streamline the process of developing affordable housing. Each unit will be energy-efficient and affordable in perpetuity.
The Rose as an adaptive reuse project, meaning its renovation repurposes the building while preserving and restoring its historical architecture. “By repurposing a historic school and parish rectory, we’re preserving the building’s rich architecture while providing much-needed affordable housing for the community,” Augustus said.
The state is providing $2.4 million to the project and allocating additional 9 percent Low Income Housing Tax Credits and state Low Income Housing Tax Credits.
Cambridge city manager Yi-An Huang said the city was thrilled to see new affordable units move forward through conversion of a building under Affordable Housing Overlay provisions.
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Another success story for the 100% Affordable Housing Overlay and the Councillors endorsed by A Better Cambridge who supported it!
I agree. It is thrilling to see Cambridge tackle the housing crisis. Great to see the AHO working.
Absolutely thrilled to see this moving forward! Hats off to the East Cambridge crew—parishioners, neighbors, preservation buffs—who put in the elbow grease to save this gem. It’s exactly the kind of affordable housing project that gets gold stars from thoughtful folks across the city. Wouldn’t be surprised if some CCC-flavored energy was behind the scenes here—they were early birds on fighting exclusionary zoning, after all. This one’s got their kind of structure written all over it. Their councillors all on board too most likely.
I love to see this! Great to see a church building being used for something so meaningful to the community for the foreseeable future. 46 units by the winter of 2027 will make such an impact. Also happy that the work is done by the nonprofit Preservation of Affordable Housing!