WinnDevelopment is using new zoning to propose adding another 103 affordable units to a North Cambridge complex it owns. Image courtesy of Prellwitz Chilinski Assoc.

Developers seeking predictable approvals and diminished threat of drawn-out legal challenges are eager to tap into Cambridge’s new zoning designed to encourage 100 percent affordable projects. 

The overlay allows 4-story multifamily buildings by right anywhere in the city, including single-family zones, if all units are income-restricted. WinnDevelopment, nonprofit Just-a-Start and the Cambridge housing authority all are seeking to build projects under the new rules, which were approved by city councilors in November. 

“In six months we’ve seen proposals for over 300 units in three projects, which is just incredible results in Cambridge,” said Allan Sadun, co-chair of affordable housing advocates A Better Cambridge. “We’re seeing it being a model in other communities.” 

The approach signals a shift away from more prescriptive rules designed to generate affordable housing, such as the decades-old inclusionary housing policies in Boston and Cambridge. Those require multifamily developers to set aside 13 percent of units in Boston and 20 percent of residential floor area in Cambridge as income-restricted, or pay a fee to support affordable housing elsewhere in the city. 

A Cautionary Tale 

Since Cambridge raised its affordable minimum to 20 percent in 2017, overall multifamily development proposals have plummeted, said Jesse Kanson-Benanav, executive director at nonprofit advocacy group Abundant Housing MA. Developers in Alewife, where approximately 2,500 apartments have been approved or completed in the past decade, are pivoting to office and lab space. 

“Cambridge suggests a cautionary tale for Boston and other communities,” Kanson-Benanav said. “We need more units, and the pure numbers really matter. But the IDP hasn’t been a major producer of affordable housing units.” 

Larry Curtis, president of Boston-based WinnDevelopment, said the IDP policies should be broken down by neighborhood to recognize vast disparities in land costs and rental income. 

“Back Bay should be different than the IDP in Mission Hill or Roxbury,” Curtis said, noting that WinnDevelopment opted not to build a middle-income apartment project in Mission Hill partly because of the IDP requirement. 

“With today’s construction costs, it puts tremendous burdens on project viability,” Curtis said. 

Cambridge’s new affordable housing overlay is prompting developers such as Just-a-Start Inc. to add density to existing properties. At 52 New St., Just-a-Start proposes 107 income-restricted apartments on a 1-acre property it acquired in 2020. Image courtesy of RODE Architects

Recipe for Existing Properties 

The first three proposals under Cambridge’s new overlay would add affordable units to existing properties held by the developers. 

At 52 New St., Cambridge-based Just-a-Start is preparing to submit plans for 107 new affordable units. It acquired the 1-acre property in January 2020 for $9.3 million in a competitive bid process, and Executive Director Carl Nagy-Koechlin said the seller’s supportiveness for Just-a-Start’s mission was important to acceptance of its bid.  

Originally, Just-a-Start estimated it would be able to build 72 apartments under the existing zoning. After the overlay passed, it redesigned the project for 107 family-sized affordable units. Economies of scale have reduced project costs by $45,000 per unit, Nagy-Koechlin said. 

Although Just-a-Start hasn’t acquired any additional properties since the overlay took effect, it’s been more competitive in bidding than before. 

“Knowing up-front exactly how many apartments we’re able to build is critical in helping us assess an acquisition price where we can be competitive with market-rate builders,” Nagy-Koechlin said. 

And because projects are approved by-right, they are less likely to face legal appeals from abutters, he said. 

Zoning Not a Cure-All 

WinnDevelopment responded to the new overlay by proposing another 103 apartments on a parking lot section of its 7-acre Walden Square property, which currently contains 240 apartments in six buildings. All of the new units would be restricted to households earning 60 percent or less of area median income, including approximately 14 units at 30 percent of AMI. 

Given their lower income streams, most affordable projects require significant public subsidies such as low-income tax credits, Curtis noted. And additional density can raise project costs even further under building code requirements for structures over seven stories. 

“Zoning itself doesn’t create affordable housing viability,” Curtis said. “The overlay is great, but it doesn’t reduce the significant costs to build housing without securing subsidies.” 

Steve Adams

And the Cambridge Housing Authority is proposing an additional 120 units at its Jefferson Park Federal property on Jackson Place, while demolishing 175 unoccupied units and replacing them with new construction. 

Abundant Housing MA’s Kanson-Benanav said the Cambridge experiment points to the national debate about the role that municipal zoning has played in fostering racial and economic segregation.  

“We need to have a broader conversation about modernizing the zoning codes and reducing permitting times for housing development generally, whether it’s 100 percent affordable or not,” he said. “We have a continuing deficit of housing in the region at all income levels.”