Development Archives - Cambridge | Somerville Independent

Order to avoid home demolitions without building permits is withdrawn as not needed

by Marc Levy November 9, 2026

All but one demolition in Cambridge have applied for building permits; at the exception, demolition and building permits are on hold, officials said.

DEVELOPMENT

Groups’ polling shows support for the multifamily zoning that faces changes in Cambridge City Council

by Marc Levy October 29, 2026

The organizations A Better Cambridge and Abundant Housing Massachusetts released results from a 442-person poll saying Cambridge’s multifamily zoning is popular.

DEVELOPMENT

Porter Square affordable housing project will use mass timber as part of a state program

by Marc Levy October 28, 2026

A Cambridge project will use wood that has been layered and bonded to be so strong it can replace steel or concrete, making construction faster, easier and less expensive.

DEVELOPMENT

Cambridge gives final approvals for a hotel on the Somerville line and its linking of community paths

by Marc Levy October 22, 2026

A 145-room hotel straddling the Cambridge-Somerville line at McGrath Highway can go forward now that it has Cambridge’s Board of Zoning Appeal approvals.

DEVELOPMENT

West Cambridge neighbors lose appeal against construction that gives board little to latch onto (corrected)

by Marc Levy October 16, 2026

Amid 1,200 pages of filings about a residential project at 90 Lexington Ave. in Cambridge, a board finds most complaints aren't under their purview.

DEVELOPMENT

Environmental concerns are cited as Birch Street apartments win Planning Board approval

by Marc Levy October 12, 2026

An elaborate process of approvals is needed for a six-story, 84-apartment project, where developer are urged to communicate better especially around environmental issues.

DEVELOPMENT

Tenants are told their rights in Cambridge, but not yet when their building is for sale

by Marc Levy October 6, 2026

Cambridge officials want a law saying that landlords must tell tenants when their building is for sale, following a path laid down in Somerville.

DEVELOPMENT

Demanding affordability of developers is a problem for Cambridge, but report says cut isn’t much of a solution

by Marc Levy October 6, 2026

Answers are needed quickly on Cambridge’s inclusionary law, which requires big homebuilders to set aside 20 percent of their space as low-cost units, city councillors said.

DEVELOPMENT

Mass General Brigham expands in Assembly Square, giving hope for labs market and a life sciences cluster

by Marc Levy October 1, 2026

Mass General Brigham is taking a long-term lease of 100,000 square feet of lab space on the lower floors at the 74M building in Somerville’s Assembly Square.

DEVELOPMENT

Hotel developer seeks size to pay for unknown ‘Pit’ contamination in a suddenly twice-as-troubled Teele Square

by Marc Levy October 1, 2026

Developers faced questions about how they justified the size of a proposed eight-story, 99-room Hilton hotel, but also a new, easier standard for permitting under state law.