Capstone and the city seem less concerned with the neighborhood and more interested in making a statement.
That statement might read like this: We want many tall buildings between Harvard Square and Alewife. We want the buildings now, the taller the better, and we’re willing to spend whatever it takes to get them.
Capstone’s tower will be the tallest building on Mass. Ave. between Harvard and Alewife. The very large Henderson Carriage Building across the street is two-and-a-half times shorter.
The tower has a footprint the same size as two mid-Cambridge three-deckers with backyards, but contains 75 apartments.
It occupies the entire lot at 2072, with zero open space at ground level, jamming it up against its neighbors, one of which is the North Cambridge Senior Center.
It provides zero parking spaces.
It has no load in or drop off zone.
It is situated at one of the avenue’s busiest intersections.
It is a ridiculously expensive project, clocking in at about 1 million dollars per unit. That’s about 75 million dollars, a huge percentage coming from the Affordable Housing Trust, which is funded by taxpayers. The taller you build, the higher the cost. A seven-story building is not only easier to build, it’s also less expensive.
The city is working feverishly to compensate for decades of poor housing policy and developers are thrilled. If the city had incentivized gentle-density mid-rise housing, capping it at seven stories on the corridors, developers, councilors, and Cambridge residents would not be shouting at each other.
Capstone needs to revise its design or just build a much-needed pocket park on the corner of Mass. Ave. and Walden.
Federico Muchnik, Richdale Avenue
A stronger
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> The tower has a footprint the same size as two mid-Cambridge three-deckers with backyards, but contains 75 apartments.
Great, more neighbors! Seems like an efficient use of space.
What’s the significance of the building abutting the senior center? That face of the existing building has no windows, so it’s not like it’ll block any access.
A seven story building is easier to build, but take into account the limited land and the high land costs we have in Cambridge. It very likely would be much more expensive to get the same number of units in half the height.
> Capstone needs to […] build a much-needed pocket park
Why should they? They’re not a park developer, they’re a housing developer.
> If the city had incentivized gentle-density mid-rise housing, capping it at seven stories on the corridors, developers, councilors, and Cambridge residents would not be shouting at each other.
I don’t know what you’re basing this on. People routinely protest loudly smaller buildings on those same corridors. Take the development at the Spears site on Western Ave, for example.