106-Unit Affordable Development To Open to Residents at 52 New Street

The first affordable housing project permitted under the city’s landmark Affordable Housing Overlay opened to residents last week, more than four years after its initial approval.

The development, 52 New Street, brings 106 income-restricted units to North Cambridge. Units with one, two, and three bedrooms are offered — a decision developers said was intended to accommodate larger families.

The project was first proposed in 2021, just months after the Cambridge City Council passed the AHO. The development was the first to make use of the ambitious zoning reform, which significantly relaxed height and density restrictions for developments with fully affordable units. The AHO allows projects to proceed by-right as long as developers hold two meetings to solicit feedback from residents and two design consultations with the Planning Board.

52 New Street was the first AHO project proposed by Just-A-Start — a Cambridge-based nonprofit development firm, completing the design process in January 2022, and breaking ground two years later. The firm has since developed or proposed six of the 16 total projects currently underway through the AHO.

Cambridge City Councilor Marc C. McGovern lauded the development as “a great example of Cambridge living its values.”

“52 New Street demonstrates what can be done when government, the community and our partners work together to address our housing affordability shortage,” he wrote, noting that the 106 homes are “mostly family sized, built with the highest environmental standards”.

The development sits steps away from Danehy Park, one of the city’s largest green spaces, and places residents near recreational areas, the Alewife MBTA station, and the Tobin Montessori and Darby Vassall Upper Schools.

City officials also praised the project’s adherence to environmental standards. The six-story development is fully compliant with energy efficiency standards set by the Passive House Institute, an environmental research organization.

Eligibility for the units is based on the household’s Area Median Income — the midpoint of a region’s income distribution, which is often used to set affordable housing restrictions. The majority of the units will be dedicated to those making between 60 and 80 percent of the AMI, which sits at roughly $149,000 per year for a family of four in Cambridge.

17 units will be set aside for households making 30 percent of the AMI and supported by a housing voucher program. Of the 17 units, eight will be allocated to residents using a federal Section 8 voucher and nine will be allocated to residents through the state-funded Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program.

The development is open to residents through a lottery system. Residents applied last summer shortly after construction completed and were notified of their selection in September. Selected tenants are expected to move into their units by mid-April.

—Staff writer Adelaide L. D. Roger can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @adelaidelrg.