Expanding Successful Affordable Housing in the City of Cambridge
The Walden Square Phase II development proposes to construct 95 units of new family affordable housing on the property of Walden Square Apartments. Owned and managed by Boston-based WinnCompanies, the community of Walden Square has provided 240 units of quality affordable housing for residents of the City of Cambridge for more than two decades.
Under the revised plan unveiled for the community in June 2023, WinnDevelopment proposes to construct two new smaller apartment buildings on the property, instead of the single large building proposed in 2021, and to create 24 new parking spaces. The revised proposal also significantly enhances the green, open space available for the Walden Square community; improves traffic, pedestrian and bicycle circulation inside the property; adds sustainable solar power to both proposed buildings; and, creates a new playground and improved amenities to benefit all residents.
With Walden Square Apartments facing a waitlist of 1,128 households, the revised plan remains focused on the meeting the community’s most urgent need, specifically new 100% affordable housing for working families in larger apartments, along with new apartment homes for individuals with sensory and mobility impairments.
The company’s proposal, which is being made under the city’s Affordable Housing Overlay (AHO) ordinance, is designed to deliver badly needed affordable housing as quickly and as cost efficiently as possible given the current market’s astronomical construction costs.
Feedback received from the current residents of Walden Square and Cambridge city planners and city officials, as well as neighbors. This input played a critical role in re-imagining the revised Walden Square II development proposal. Community meetings will be held in July and WinnDevelopment expects to submit the final design review package to the Cambridge Planning Board later this summer.