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Housing Development and Preservation

390 Rindge Ave
390 Rindge Ave

The City of Cambridge supports the development and preservation of affordable housing throughout the City. The Housing Department works with non-profits, the Cambridge Housing Authority, and private owners to provide a wide range of housing options for residents. With funding from the City and the Cambridge Affordable Housing Trust, the Housing Department and its partners combine high quality design with sustainable development principles and sound planning to help maintain the diversity of the Cambridge community while investing for the long-term in the City's affordable housing stock.

 

  • 5 Webster

    Development Projects

    The City employs several strategies to add to its stock of affordable housing for residents. These include new construction of both rental and ownership housing, adaptive reuse of existing structures to create new housing, and acquisition and rehabilitation of existing housing to create high-quality units that will be affordable for the long-term.

  • Norstin Apartments

    Housing Preservation

    The City is committed to preserving existing affordable housing both for current tenants and to ensure that these important housing resources continue to serve the community into the future. Preservation takes many forms, including acquisition of "expiring use" developments, working with owners to extend affordability commitments, and providing support for rehabilitation of existing affordable units.

  • 625 Putnam Solar Panels

    Sustainable Development & Green Affordable Housing

    The Housing Department works with its development partners to promote sustainable development and incorporate green features into affordable housing. Recent developments have received LEED ratings of Silver, Gold and Platinum, representing the highest standards for green building, and several have included renewable energy features such as solar-thermal hot water and solar electricity. City-assisted developments further reduce ongoing energy consumption by maximizing insulation and using Energy Star appliances.

  • Overlay Infogaphic

    100% Affordable Housing Overlay

    The 100%-Affordable Housing Overlay (AHO) is designed to help affordable housing developers create new, permanently affordable homes more quickly, more cost effectively, and in areas of the city where there are currently fewer affordable housing opportunities. The AHO allows the creation of new, permanently affordable housing that is denser than what might be allowed under base zoning, and creates a new review process through which new affordable housing can be approved more efficiently.