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The Cambridge Housing Authority (CHA) purchased 31-37 Mellen Street, a 26,000 square foot property, from Lesley University in late December 2025. Located in the Baldwin neighborhood between Harvard Square and Porter Square, the site is in close proximity to the area’s many amenities including local retail restaurants, and the MBTA train stations and bus transportation. The CHA is planning to create new affordable housing on the sites under the provisions of the Affordable Housing Overlay (AHO).

37 Brookline Street is a 6,582 square foot property in Cambridgeport, located a couple of blocks south of Massachusetts Avenue and the amenities of Central Square, including shops, restaurants and the Central Square MBTA station. The property contains an existing vacant three-family building, which was most recently owned by the late artist Peter Valentine, a well-known member of the Cambridge arts community. Just A Start (JAS) purchased the property in July 2023 and intends to replace the existing triple-decker with a new affordable multi-family rental development under the provisions of the Affordable Housing Overlay (AHO).

In December 2024, the development team behind Frost Terrace Apartments, a 40-unit 100% affordable development completed in 2021, purchased six contiguous sites (20 Roseland Street, 22 Roseland Street, 28 Roseland Street, 1 Frost Street, 3 Frost Street, and 5 Frost Street) where they intend to create another affordable development. The approximately one-acre parcel is adjacent to Frost Terrace and will be called Frost Terrace II. Located in the heart of Porter Square, surrounded by many amenities including restaurants, retail stores, and the Porter Square MBTA station, the combined parcels total 127,668 square feet and currently contain five multi-family buildings and one single family house. The team plans to create this affordable housing under the provisions of the Affordable Housing Overlay (AHO).

139 Bishop Allen Drive, familiarly known as Vail Court, is a 28,201 square foot lot located in Mid-Cambridge that was acquired by the City of Cambridge through eminent domain in 2016. In June 2017, the City Council voted to transfer the property to the Cambridge Affordable Housing Trust (CAHT) for redevelopment as affordable housing. In July 2017, the City and CAHT held an initial community meeting to discuss the site and next steps, but the process was paused due to the onset of litigation. That litigation has now been resolved and the CAHT is restarting the process of planning for an affordable housing development for the site. The CAHT plans to issue a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to seek and select a development team to create new affordable housing at the 139 Bishop Allen site. It is expected that the site will be developed under the provisions of the Affordable Housing Overlay (AHO). Once an affordable housing developer has been selected, a community process will be conducted to review redevelopment plans for the site.

Website + Constant Contact: Marketing Underway for New Affordable Housing at 52 New Street Apartments – Information Sessions on April 28 Just A Start (JAS) is holding a second lottery for up to 20 of its one- and two-bedroom affordable housing rental units at 52 New Street in Cambridge and to fill the waiting list for units as they become available. Supported with funding from the City of Cambridge and Cambridge Affordable Housing Trust, 52 New Street was the first development to be approved under the Affordable Housing Overlay. Construction is complete. Residents selected in this round will begin moving in by late June to July 2026. Applications for the remaining units are now available until May 20 at 3 p.m. Please visit here to complete the application online. JAS will be hosting an information session on April 28 at 1 p.m. online. Please visit www.52NewStreetApartments.com to register for the information session. A lottery will be held on May 22 at 3 p.m. via Teams. Attendance is not required. For more information on 52 New Street, please visit JAS’s project page at: https://justastart.org/52-new-street/. For more information about the application process and the upcoming information session, please click on the flyer here or email 52NewStreet@Wingatecompanies.com.

City of Cambridge zoning and land use maps

Planning Board Agendas, Transcripts and Hearing Notices from 2019.

The Harvard Square Advisory Committee (HSAC) is a group of community members with direct relationships to Harvard Square, who review development proposals and planning projects that impact Harvard Square.

Advisory Committees are appointed by the City Manager to assist with the review of development proposals.

The Zoning Ordinance refers to urban design plans and guidelines that apply to certain parts of the city or to certain categories of development.