Projects Underway

Harvey St.

One of the last lodging houses in Cambridge, 35 Harvey Street, is undergoing a complete renovation thanks to funding from the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities and the City of Cambridge. A longtime part of the CASCAP portfolio, the 1895 Mansard Victorian currently contains sixteen lodging rooms with shared kitchens and baths. Following renovation, 35 Harvey will include twelve enhanced SROs, each with an individual bathroom and kitchenette. The renovation will allow us to increase supportive services at the building, with Heading Home providing case management to all 12 residents. In addition to unit improvements, the scope of work will include accessibility upgrades including one fully accessible unit. The project will achieve energy savings through electrification of HVAC systems and additional insulation. Finally, we will restore historic elements of the façade, in consultation with the Cambridge Historical Commission. We anticipate the project will be complete in fall 2024.

Wendell Street

HRI recently acquired a parcel of land, located at 30 Wendell St, from Lesley University. We anticipate that we can build at least 40 homes for families at this site, with space for property management and resident services on the ground floor. HRI’s development team will begin architectural work this winter, in preparation for the City of Cambridge Affordable Housing Overlay (AHO) review process in 2024.

4 Mellen St

4 Mellen St (formerly known as 1627 Mass Ave), located in Cambridge’s Baldwin community, wrapped up its Cambridge Planning Board Affordable Housing Overlay (AHO) design review in early December and also received its Final Certificate of Appropriateness from the Cambridge Historical Commission. HRI and ICON Architecture will continue to refine the project design using feedback we heard from the two boards as well as from community members and city staff. The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) has approved our pre-application for funding, and we will submit a full application in February.