Past debates over setting “linkage” fees for commercial development have divided the City Council into factions who want to push the limits and those who fear scaring off the builders who pay those fees. These was no hint of division as councillors talked about a 66 percent increase.

The developers of 40 Thorndike, the office tower project that led to years of neighborhood and political conflict in East Cambridge, issued a progress report Wednesday, including that interior demolition and abatement for mold and asbestos is near completion.

Developer Boston Properties plans to build 465 dwelling units at its 135 Broadway tower in Kendall Square, up from 425, HubSpot has terminated its lease for digs nearby in East Cambridge and there’s much more going on in local real estate and development.

Ads offering space to businesses in East Cambridge’s Foundry community building begin rolling out next week, but not every company will find the offerings ideal despite an address close to Kendall Square.

The sale of the 17-story office tower at 1 Memorial Drive, Kendall Square, is being called the biggest of its kind so far in 2021, but think of the three-story building going for $35.5 million. MIT has broken ground on a college of computing, too, and more apartments are going up near Union Square.

The affordable housing project at 2072 Massachusetts Ave., North Cambridge, was withdrawn by developers Friday in a letter to the Board of Zoning Appeal, but one said they remain “100 percent committed to building an affordable housing project on that site.”

The 20-room Mary Prentiss Inn near Porter Square has sold for $6.1 million after more than a year on the market; a 15-unit building in Inman Square sells for $5.9 million to buyers who plan to “reposition” it; and a Harvard professor’s single-family home goes for $4.6 million.

A life science developer paid $130 million for One Canal Park in East Cambridge, up from its $72 million value five years ago, while construction continues on 1,038 more residential units for Cambridge and a seller makes around $56.4 million on two properties.

A 15-acre project called USQ got a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday, signaling what one speaker declared “the return of Union Square as the center of commerce for Somerville.”

When plans for the 14-acre Volpe parcel return to the Planning Board on July 20 for a rezoning petition filed June 21, there will be a few notable changes, including a Third Street Park redesigned for more combined open space and a community center expanded to 25,000 square feet.