Cambridge Releases 5-Year Affordable Housing Trust Report

Results Show Steady Progress, Robust Pipeline

The City of Cambridge is pleased to announce the release of the 5-year Affordable Housing Trust Report detailing Trust-funded development of affordable housing from Fiscal Year 2021-Fiscal Year 2025. The report illustrates the City’s strong commitment to affordable housing through significant investment in the Affordable Housing Trust, which funds the creation and preservation of permanently affordable housing in Cambridge. Established in 1989, the Trust is guided by a 9-member board and is the City’s most powerful tool for preserving and expanding affordable housing through the investment of City funding.

In Fiscal Year 2025, the City’s more than $40 million investment in the Trust represented a 300 percent increase over the annual investment just 10 years prior. Within the five-year reporting period, the City financed the purchase of 14 properties to convert to affordable housing and created or preserved 900 affordable housing units through Trust funding. Another 1,000 affordable units are currently in the development pipeline.

“This report shows what’s possible when a City Council makes affordable housing its top priority,” said Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui. “Through the Housing Committee, we advanced key reforms—from the Affordable Housing Overlay to increased commercial linkage fees—and paired them with over $40 million annually for the Affordable Housing Trust. The result is hundreds of new affordable homes and stronger long-term preservation across Cambridge.”

“The Affordable Housing Trust and City are united in recognizing that housing affordability is the defining challenge facing Cambridge today,” said Yi-An Huang, Cambridge City Manager and the Trust’s Managing Trustee. “That is why we have worked deliberately and urgently to dramatically ramp up our investment in new affordable housing, preserve existing units, and support policies that keep Cambridge livable for residents at all income levels.”

While the Trust is largely focused on supporting housing production that is affordable to lower-income households, it also funds affordable developments for people needing additional accommodation and support. Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) projects - such as the 62-unit Dan’s Place at 116 Norfolk Street - feature on-site staff and supportive services for residents who previously experienced long-term homelessness.

“Funding the creation of Permanent Supportive Housing is an important part of the Affordable Housing Trust’s work, but it is often simply categorized as affordable housing with the service component not emphasized,” said Chris Cotter, Cambridge Housing Department Director. “Our support of PSH reflects our understanding that people may face many barriers to housing and that affordability is only one of them. Other barriers may require long-term support, which is why this type of affordable housing is so important.”

The report highlights:

• Background on the Cambridge Affordable Housing Trust
• Funding sources for the Trust
• Affordable housing milestones over the past five years
• Highlights from the most recent fiscal year
• An overview of projects that received Trust funding during the reporting period, including several award-winning developments:
  
  • 98-unit Finch Cambridge, which was celebrated for sustainable design
  • 40-unit Frost Terrace, which was a recipient of awards for creative design
  • 23-unit Squirrelwood Apartments, which was honored for restoration and construction
• How affordable housing developers are closely aligned with the City’s environmental goals
  
  • Most recently constructed projects, along with those still in the pipeline, are designed to meet standards set by Enterprise Green Communities (EGC), Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), or Passive House Institute (PHIUS)
• An overview of Cambridge’s Affordable Homeownership Programs
• Affordable Housing Trust financials for FY2025
• Key Community Housing Partners

City leaders and affordable housing development partners held a news conference on March 18. The event took place at Just A Start's new Trust-funded development at 52 New Street, which will provide 106 affordable units to Cambridge families.

To view and download the 5-Year Affordable Housing Trust Report, click here.