An artist’s rendering included in marketing materials for 18 Donnell St. in Cambridge shows a potential 6-story residential building. The lot sold last week for nearly $2.7 million. Image courtesy of Barrie Sells Boston | Global Lux Collective
As the Cambridge City Council debates additional upzoning to encourage multifamily development, recent real estate transactions illustrate the dramatic increases in land values triggered by this year’s citywide rezoning.
In Cambridge Highlands, a 0.21-acre lot more than doubled its price in just over six months.
McGeough Custom Homes acquired 4 Griswold St. in April for $1.495 million and had laid the foundation for a pair of small single-family homes that were previously approved.
Maggie Gold Seelig, founder of MGS Group Real Estate, encouraged builder John McGeough to redesign the project for additional density.
“Ultimately, he was working on some other projects in the suburbs and said, ‘What if we just sell the land?’” Gold Seelig said.
With a “Calling All Developers” tagline touting the lot’s new potential to build nine units or 10,000 square feet by right, Gold Seelig received more than 20 inquiries and placed the property under agreement for $3 million. It sold in October to Somerville-based Kinvarra Capital, which is planning to build four single-family townhomes, according to its website.
West Cambridge Sale Hits Record
A nearly $2.7 million transaction last week set records for highest land price ever recorded for a residential property in West Cambridge listed through MLS PIN, at $539 per square foot. The 18 Donnell St. property contains an 861-square-foot Gable-roof house built in 1845.
Barrie Naji, a sales associate for Coldwell Banker’s Barrie Sells Boston | Global Lux Collective, said she initially planned to list the property for $1.4 million, based upon an analysis of recent comparable sales in the neighborhood.
“Then I found out about the rezoning,” Naji said. “I went back and said, `We need to list it at $2.6 million.”
Naji marketed the property with a video showing a potential 6-story apartment or condominium building that could be built under the city’s new multifamily zoning. Within five days, she had received three offers including two from developers, and sold the property for $2.69 million on Dec. 15.
Despite the record-setting price, the property may not be in the mix for redevelopment. In an email, buyer Antony Stark said he acquired the property “in order to prevent it being developed in accord with the new Cambridge zoning rules.”
18 Stories Eyed for Porter Square
Buildings up to 18 stories could be built in Porter Square under a planned development district, according to Cambridge’s proposed Massachusetts Avenue zoning petition. Image courtesy of Cambridge Community Development Department
A February vote of the City Council eliminated Cambridge’s remaining single-family zoning districts, which were concentrated in the western half of the city.
In its place, it substituted regulations that allow multifamily buildings up to four stories by right, or up to six stories if they include 20 percent income-restricted units on lots spanning at least 5,000 square feet.
Cambridge officials have estimated that the citywide rezoning could catalyze construction of nearly 3,600 multifamily housing units by 2040.
Now, officials are nearing a decision to allow buildings as tall as 18 stories in Porter Square, and additional heights in Inman Square and along northern sections of Massachusetts Avenue.
On Dec. 15, the City Council delayed a vote on a policy order supporting 11-story buildings throughout the Massachusetts Avenue subdistrict stretching from Cambridge Common to the Arlington border.
Steve Adams
In Porter Square, a planned unit development [PUD] overlay district would permit buildings up to 18 stories on Massachusetts Avenue, while requiring a 20 percent open space component.
Although it’s primarily designed to encourage housing production, the proposal expands as-of-right uses to include hotels, nightclubs, theaters, food halls and breweries.
The vote was postponed until the council’s next meeting.
Sole Opponent Wants More Height
A separate planning study for the Cambridge Street corridor moved forward. Councilors approved a policy order that instructs the Community Development Department to reduce the proposed maximum residential building heights in Inman Square from 10 to 8 stories. Currently, maximum heights are 6 to 8 stories.
The only “no” vote was cast by Councilor Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler, who opposed the 10- to 8-story reduction because it would generate fewer affordable housing units.
The proposal also raises building heights along Cambridge Street to 12 stories in the Webster and Windsor streets intersections, and up to 15 stories in Lechmere.
During a public comment period, residents spoke in favor and against both proposals, reiterating arguments heard during last year’s citywide rezoning debate.
Opponents said the new building heights would encourage displacement of local businesses and asked for an analysis of potential developments’ effects on traffic volume and infrastructure.
“It’s destructive to the fabric of the neighborhood that Cambridge Street services,” said Chuck Hinds of the East Cambridge Planning Team, a neighborhood group.
