The Cambridge Housing Authority is moving toward a significant milestone. After clearing major zoning hurdles this year, the city is preparing to begin Phase 1 demolition and reconstruction of the 153-unit Corcoran Park affordable housing complex in Strawberry Hill. This isn’t a standard modernization project. The CHA isn’t simply upgrading old construction or adding new units. It is remedying a long-standing environmental issue: a portion of the complex is plagued by flooding and occasional sinkholes, a direct result of soil settling and stormwater backup from extreme weather events.
Understanding the situation requires a dive into the past. Roughly 10,000 years ago, receding glaciers carved out Strawberry Hill and left behind a massive, 7-square-mile network of marshes known as the Great Swamp. For centuries, this region acted as a giant sponge. A body of water within the region called Bird’s Pond, named after prominent local landowners who ran a nearby tavern, became a massive headache for the city in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A beloved spot for ice skating in the winter, Bird’s Pond turned into a stagnant, foul-smelling breeding ground for mosquitoes in the summer. Moreover, streams ran into it carrying agricultural, animal and human runoff from farms in neighboring Belmont.
The Cambridge Water Department recognized that the polluted water from Bird’s Pond was seeping through the soil directly into Fresh Pond, the city’s primary source of clean drinking water. In 1889 the Massachusetts Legislature granted the city of Cambridge the right of eminent domain to seize all the land around Fresh Pond, including Bird’s Pond and nearby Cider Mill Pond. The Water Board soon began filling the basin and damming and grading the landscape to disconnect the streams flowing from these two smaller ponds into Fresh Pond.
Many years passed before Cambridge developed the land. The post-World War II housing crisis, felt particularly acutely by returning veterans and their young families, prompted the city to target the near-empty bowl where Bird’s Pond sat for low-income housing. Following the transfer of the property to the newly formed CHA, the remaining water was pumped out, underground springs were diverted to municipal storm drains and five to six more feet of “urban fill” – a cocktail of dirt, gravel, coal ash and construction debris — were used to level the area. In 1951 the the authority broke ground on a suburban-style cluster of wood-frame row houses, which were named after former mayor and chair of the authority John H. Corcoran.
Decades later, the decision to build housing on such low-lying land has left the city with no choice but to remedy the situation. Long-term flood maps amplify the risks of inaction in a rapidly shifting climate. The CHA homed in on redesign plans in 2025 only to be dealt a significant setback when the Cambridge FloodViewer update was released, raising minimum building elevations under city zoning requirements. Now it’s back to the drawing board for all but Phase 1 of the project, which is scheduled to break ground in December.
What’s certain: The overhaul will go far beyond 1950s standards to ensure long-term resilience. Increased elevation for the lowest parts of the Corcoran Park complex, all-electric infrastructure, high-efficiency heat pumps, space for solar panels and Passive House certification are planned. Extensive underground stormwater storage and infiltration systems will be implemented to mitigate the impact of smaller floods. More floors and units will be added: from two to as many as four floors and from 153 to more than 290 units. Finally, enhanced accessibility features such as elevators will allow residents with mobility issues to live more comfortably.
Walk by Corcoran Park today and you’ll find a tight-knit collection of neighbors, including many longtime residents and multigenerational families. Joe Bednar, project manager with the CHA, emphasized the importance of preserving what residents love about living here: “This is really a unique and special place. We’re balancing increasing the density with the needs and desires of our residents and the neighbors. It’s a challenge, but it’s a good challenge.”
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