Attend meetings on developments citywide; vacant storefronts, bridge work get looks too
Public meetings this week look at issues such as a potentially 500-unit apartment building in Cambridge Crossing; the 300 units of affordable housing at Millers River in East Cambridge; the Envision Cambridge citywide master planning process; and Porter Square’s vacant storefronts.
Top credit ratings in hand as bonds go out, city managers warn of debt, lower free cash
The upcoming $220 million renovation of the Tobin School loomed large in discussion of city finances Monday, when officials cheered another year of stellar credit ratings while again warning that spending on giant capital projects would eventually have to end.
What happened in Cambridge in 2017: High points, low points and otherwise
A lot happens in the course of a year in a densely packed city of 105,162 people with high-profile industries, clashing interests and significant class disparities. From standing up for the vulnerable to deceiving people who come here to do business, here’s a rundown.
As government programming funds dry up, Housing Authority seeks $3M to aid tenants
The Cambridge Housing Authority is planning a campaign to raise $3 million from private donors to support the services it provides to residents to to help bring the people who live in its apartments out of poverty.
Threat of bank is really threat of a bubble; Harvard Square landlords win either way
To landlords, banks look like steady money. To everyone else, they looks like one storefront more that gives tourists no reason to visit, one storefront more that, 364 days of the year, might as well be an ATM taking up a fraction of the space.
Bank branch taking over Brattle Street spot once Harvard Square’s American Apparel
First Republic will be taking over the former American Apparel space at 47 Brattle St., empty since the end of March after the controversial clothing company suffered bankruptcies and shuttered stores nationwide.
Boston landmark Hilton’s Tent City moves in May to Central Square, filling bank space
Harvard Square lost an Eastern Mountain Sports, but Central Square is getting a Hilton’s Tent City.
A first for announcing stellar financial news from three bond ratings: Having to justify it
The city’s financial health has won top marks from all three major bond raters for the 18th straight year, officials announced Monday – an honor limited to only about three dozen communities nationwide. And its first-ever “minibond” offering sold out as well.
Cambridge readies ‘minibond’ offering, letting residents invest in city projects
Cambridge officials are gearing up to issue the first-ever round of municipal minibonds, available only to residents. The bonds are “mini” because they can be bought in denominations as low as $1,000 and will be capped at $20,000, and paid off within five years.
Escaped federal prisoner is recaptured after bank robbery attempts, police say (update)
An escaped federal prisoner and former Cambridge resident and Army reservist may be the man who attempted a bank robbery in Central Square early Wednesday, Cambridge police and FBI officials are saying.
