CMA 2026-215 · Agenda item attachment · Aug 3 2026

Christopher Cotter | Director of Housing City Annex Building - 344 Broadway - Cambridge, MA 02139 Ph. [phone removed] | Email. housing@cambridgema.gov Visit. cambridgema.gov/housing To: Yi-An Huang, City Manager From: Christopher Cotter, Chief of Housing Date: August 3, 2026 Re: 2026 Affordable Housing Overlay Report Per the requirements of Section 11.207.11 of the Cambridge Zoning Ordinance, we are pleased to submit the 2026 Annual Report of the Affordable Housing Overlay (AHO), which provides a summary of affordable housing development activity under the AHO. The AHO has continued to be a critical tool in advancing new affordable housing development. It has allowed affordable housing providers to aggressively pursue new development opportunities with a clear understanding of what they can build. In FY26, four new properties were acquired, three of which are anticipated to be developed under the provisions of the AHO, the first development approved under the AHO, 52 New Street, was completed, and new residents are now living in its 106 new affordable rental units. There are now 168 affordable AHO units now completed, with approximately 930 additional AHO units in the development pipeline, and more to come as new proposals come together for recently acquired sites. The combination of the AHO and City funds continue to be a highly effective approach to foster an unprecedented pipeline of new 100%-affordable housing in the city. The Ordinance requires that the annual report on the AHO include the following: 1. A list of sites considered for affordable housing development under the AHO, to the extent known by the Housing Department, including: • Site location; • Actions taken to initiate an AHO Project; • Site status. 1. A description of each AHO Project underway or completed, including: • Site location; • Number of units; • Unit types/number of bedrooms; • Tenure;

2026 Affordable Housing Overlay Annual Report August 3, 2026 2 / 3 • Project status; • Number of residents served by AHO Project. As noted in the attached report, a total of 42 sites were reviewed in FY26 for potential development under the AHO, including 22 new sites first assessed in FY26 and 20 sites previously reported where review continued in FY26. There were 15 AHO developments underway in FY26 and five sites that are anticipated to proceed under the provisions of the AHO in FY27. A number of milestones were reached in FY26, chief among them the completion of 52 New Street, the first building that was approved under the AHO. Just A Start (JAS) completed the AHO review process for 52 New Street in January 2022 and started construction in December 2023. 52 New Street was completed this spring and 106 new affordable rental units, including 84 family-sized units are now on- line with residents continuing to move in. Other notable milestones in FY26 include two AHO developments beginning construction (35 Cherry Street and 87-101 Blanchard Road). Construction is also continuing on three AHO developments (Jefferson Park Federal, 4 Mellen Street, and 49 Sixth Street), for a total of five AHO developments now under construction. We will see more AHO units completed in FY27 beginning with the first few buildings at Jefferson Park Federal where 278 AHO will begin to come on-line in the coming months. Construction at 4 Mellen Street is expected to be completed later this year in advance of occupancy in early 2027; marketing and resident selection for 29 affordable units at 4 Mellen Street is now ongoing. We expect construction of 46 units at 49 Sixth Street to be completed next spring. Two AHO projects secured the final amounts of financing needed in FY26 and are expected to begin construction in FY27 (12-14 Laurel Street and Walden Square II). Four other AHO developments (28-30 Wendell Street, Corcoran Park - Phase 1, 2072 Massachusetts Avenue, and 240 Broadway (also known as Broadway Park)) completed the AHO Planning Board advisory design consultation process in FY26 and are now seeking funding commitments needed to begin construction. Finally, in FY26, the AHO community process began for one new AHO development: 350 Rindge Avenue. The 350 Rindge Avenue development involves the construction of a new affordable rental building in North Cambridge. The site is currently two adjacent lots totaling 21,740 square feet with mixed commercial and multifamily housing. The development team consists of two local affordable housing developers, Boston Communities and Affordable Housing & Services Collaborative (AHSC). They are expected to begin the AHO Planning Board Advisory Design review process in FY27. The attached report lists the sites which have been assessed as potential AHO developments, to the extent known by the Housing Department. The AHO report does not include other sites, such as existing multi-family buildings, which were also assessed (and in some cases acquired) in FY26 as opportunities to create affordable housing through means other than the AHO.

2026 Affordable Housing Overlay Annual Report August 3, 2026 3 / 3 We are pleased to report that the AHO has now resulted in 2 completed developments and has produced 168 affordable units which are expected to house more than 350 residents (once lease-up is complete at 52 New Street). The 15 AHO developments also now underway together will create approximately 930 more affordable units, with five other sites that are expected to begin the AHO process in FY27. The Housing Department will continue to work with affordable housing providers to advance AHO developments and to identify, assess, and secure new sites for development under the AHO provisions.

Page 1 Affordable Housing Overlay (AHO) Annual Report Developer Name Address of Potential AHO Development Neighborhood Fiscal Year (FY) First Evaluated Steps Taken To Pursue Site as AHO Site Status JAS Alewife Brook Parkway, 201 Cambridge Highlands FY26 Feasibility analysis Under continued review JAS Broadway, 307 The Port FY26 Feasibility analysis Decided not to pursue JAS Cedar Street, 57 North Cambridge FY26 Feasibility analysis Decided not to pursue JAS Cherry Street, 71 The Port FY26 Site visit, feasibility analysis, offer made Under continued review JAS Columbia Street, 77 The Port FY26 Feasibility analysis, site visit Decided not to pursue JAS Concord Avenue, 24-26 West Cambridge FY26 Feasibility analysis Sold to another developer Beacon First Street, 161 East Cambridge FY26 Feasibility analysis Under continued review HRI & JAS Harvard Square Site [address confidential] Mid-Cambridge FY26 Feasibility analysis Under continued review HRI Kendall Square site [address confidential] Kendall Square area FY26 Feasibility analysis Under continued review JAS Massachusetts Avenue, 898, Hancock Street, 52 Riverside FY26 Feasibility analysis Decided not to pursue JAS Massachusetts Avenue, 711 Mid-Cambridge FY26 Feasibility analysis Decided not to pursue JAS New Street, 22-48 Neighborhood Nine FY26 Feasibility analysis Decided not to pursue JAS Notre Dame Avenue, 15-21 North Cambridge FY26 Feasibility analysis Under continued review JAS Oxford Street, 135-137 Baldwin FY26 Feasibility analysis Decided not to pursue JAS Rindge Avenue, 141-141 North Cambridge FY26 Feasibility analysis Under continued review Boston Communities and Affordable Housing Services Collaborative Rindge Avenue, 344-350 North Cambridge FY26 Feasibility analysis, offer made Offer accepted; active AHO project JAS Rogers Street, 37-49 East Cambridge FY26 Feasibility analysis Sale to another developer pending HRI Russell Street, 44 North Cambridge FY26 Feasibility analysis Decided not to pursue JAS Sherman Street, 2 Neighborhood Nine FY26 Feasibility analysis Sold to another developer JAS Sidney Street, 167 Cambridgeport FY26 Feasibility analysis Decided not to pursue JAS Smith Place, 53 Cambridge Highlands FY26 Feasibility analysis Decided not to pursue HRI & JAS Somerville Avenue, 815 North Cambridge FY26 Feasibility analysis Under continued review Developer Name Address of Potential AHO Development Neighborhood Fiscal Year (FY) First Evaluated Steps Taken To Pursue Site as AHO Site Status HRI Alewife Quadrangle site [address confidential] Cambridge Highlands FY25 Site visit, feasibility analysis, offer made Offer rejected JAS Broadway, 253 The Port FY25 Feasibility analysis Sold to another developer CHA Clifton Street, 81 North Cambridge FY24 Feasibility analysis CHA-owned site; under continued review CHA Columbus Ave, 8-10 North Cambridge FY24 Feasibility analysis CHA-owned site; under continued review HRI Concord Avenue, 483-489 Neighborhood Nine FY23 Feasibility analysis Decided not to pursue HRI Concord Avenue, 729, 735, 737, 745, 755 Cambridge Highlands FY24 Site visit, feasibility analysis, offer made Site purchased; AHO proposal anticipated in FY27 JAS Hampshire Street, 115-119 Wellington-Harrington FY24 Feasibility analysis Owner no longer selling CHA Jackson Street, 115-117 North Cambridge FY24 Feasibility analysis CHA-owned site; under continued review CHA Jackson Street, 124 North Cambridge FY25 Site visit, feasbility analysis, offer made Offer accepted CHA Lowell Street (address confidential) West Cambridge FY 25 Site visit, feasibility analysis Decided not to pursue HRI Main Street, 805 The Port FY23 Site visit, feasibility analysis, offer made Offer rejected JAS Massachusetts Avenue, 2326 North Cambridge FY24 Feasibility analysis Under continued review CHA Mellen Street, 31-37 Baldwin FY25 Feasibility analysis, offer made Site purchased; AHO proposal anticipated in FY27 CHA Porter Street, 16-26 East Cambridge FY25 Site visit, feasibility analysis, offer made Site purchased; AHO proposal anticipated in FY27 HRI River Street, 25-29 Riverside FY24 Site visit, feasibility analysis Under continued review CHA Roosevelt Towers Mid-Rise, 14 Wellington Harrington FY25 Feasibility analysis CHA-owned site; under continued review JAS Spring Street (address confidential) East Cambridge FY22 Site visit, feasibility analysis Owner no longer selling CHA Valentine Street, 19 Cambridgeport FY24 Feasibility analysis CHA-owned site; under continued review CHA Western Avenue, 205 Riverside FY24 Feasibility analysis Under continued review CHA Whittlemore Avenue, 25-27 North Cambridge FY25 Feasibility analysis Under continued review New Sites Evaluated as Potential AHO Developments (July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2026): Previous Sites Evaluated as Potential AHO Developments which continued to be reviewed in FY26: Affordable Housing Overlay (AHO) Annual Report

Page 2 Completed AHO Developments: Developer Name Address of AHO Development / Planning Board # Neighborhood Number of Units Bedroom Size Mix AHO Project Status # of Residents Served Tenure Cambridge Housing Authority 116 Norfolk Street (AHO-5) The Port 62 0BRs: 62 1BRs: 0 2BRs: 0 3BRs: 0 4+BRs: 0 AHO Process Complete. AHO community meetings held 2/10/22 and 4/26/22. Planning Board advisory design consultation meetings were held on 7/5/22 and 9/13/22. Final Planning Board report issued on 10/28/22 and transmitted to the Trust in its 11/17/2022 briefing materials. Construction completed 1/2025. Property fully occupied. 62 Rental Just A Start 52 New Street (AHO-1) Neighborhood Nine 106 0BRs: 0 1BRs: 22 2BRs: 62 3BRs: 22 4+BRs: 0 AHO Process Complete. AHO Community meetings held on 2/25/21, 3/25/21, and 4/15/21. Planning Board design consultation held on 10/26/21 and 1/4/22. Design consultation completed January 2022. Final Planning Board report issued 1/20/22 and was transmitted to the Trust in its 1/27/22 briefing materials. Construction completed 6/2026. Property occupied. 194 (lease-up ongoing; expected to house approximately 318 residents when complete) Rental 0BRs: 62 1BRs: 22 2BRs: 62 3BRs: 22 4+BRs: 0 AHO Developments Actively Underway: Developer Name Address of AHO Development / Planning Board # Neighborhood Number of Units Bedroom Size Mix AHO Project Status Est'd # of Residents To Be Served Tenure Cambridge Housing Authority Jefferson Park Federal (45-60; 61-75; 77-92; 93- 108; Jackson Circle; 1; 2-19, 21-42; 109-124; 1000 Jackson Place) (AHO-2) North Cambridge 278 0BRs: 0 1BRs: 37 2BRs: 111 3BRs: 111 4+BRs: 19 AHO Process Complete. AHO Community meetings held on 3/2/21, 4/1/21, and 10/19/21. Planning Board design consultation held 11/9/21 and 2/15/22. Final Planning Board report issued 3/9/22 and was transmitted to the Trust in its 3/24/22 briefing materials. Phase I closed 7/2024 and Phase II closed 8/2025; under construction. 1,002 Rental Walden Square 2 21 Walden Square Road (AHO-3) Neighborhood Nine 95 0BRs: 0 1BRs: 33 2BRs: 33 3BRs: 23 4+BRs: 6 AHO Process Complete. AHO Community meetings held on 3/23/21, 4/13/21, 5/27/21, 2/23/22, 8/1/23, and 9/14/23. Planning Board advisory design meetings held 3/12/24 and 7/2/24. Final Planning Board report issued 7/22/24 and was transmitted to the Trust in its 8/1/24 briefing materials. Funding assembled; preparing for construction. 288 Rental 2 completed AHO development Unit Count: 168 units Number of residents served: 256+

Page 3 Preservation of Affordable Housing 49 Sixth Street (AHO-4) East Cambridge 46 0BRs: 0 1BRs: 14 2BRs: 20 3BRs: 11 4+BRs: 1 AHO Process Complete. AHO Community meetings held on 7/27/21 and 11/3/21. Planning Board advisory design consultation meeting held 4/5/22 and 6/28/22. Final Planning Board report issued 7/14/22 and transmitted to the Trust in its 8/4/2022 briefing materials. Closed 6/2025; under construction. 137 Rental Homeowners Rehab Inc 4 Mellen Street (fka 1627 Massachusetts Avenue) (AHO-6) Baldwin 29 0BRs: 0 1BRs: 10 2BRs: 12 3BRs: 7 4+BRs: 0 AHO Process Complete. AHO community meetings held 9/15/22 and 3/15/23. Planning Board advisory design consultation meetings were held on 7/18/23 and 12/5/23. Final Planning Board report issued on 12/20/23 and transmitted to the Trust in its 1/25/24 briefing materials. Closed 5/2025; under construction. 83 Rental B'nai B'rith Housing 87-101 Blanchard Road (AHO-7) Cambridge Highlands 110 0BRs: 0 1BRs: 110 2BRs: 0 3BRs: 0 4+BRs: 0 AHO Process Complete. AHO community meetings held 10/4/23 and 11/9/23. The Planning Board advisory design meetings held 1/30/24 and 6/4/24. Final Planning Board report issued on 6/18/24 and transmitted to the Trust in its 6/27/24 briefing materials. Closed 5/2026; under construction. 165 Rental Homeowners Rehab Inc 28-30 Wendell Street (AHO-8) Baldwin 95 0BRs: 0 1BRs: 44 2BRs: 25 3BRs: 26 4+BRs: 0 AHO Process Complete. AHO community meeting held 2/14/24, 6/20/24, 11/14/24, and 3/6/25. The Planning Board advisory design meetings held 8/5/2025 and 11/18/2025. Final Planning Board report issued on 12/11/2025 and transmitted to the Trust in its 1/22/2026 briefing materials. Seeking funding needed to begin construction. 258 Rental Just A Start 35 Cherry Street The Port 10 0BRs: 0 1BRs: 0 2BRs: 6 3BRs: 4 4+BRs: 0 AHO Process Complete. AHO community meetings held 5/15/24, 6/26/24, and 8/21/24. Closed 10/2026; under construction. 36 Homeownership Just A Start 37 Brookline Street Cambridgeport 14 0BRs: 0 1BRs: 6 2BRs: 5 3BRs: 3 4+BRs: 0 AHO Process Complete. AHO community meeting held 7/10/24 and 9/11/2024. Seeking funding needed to begin construction. 38 Rental Cambridge Redevelopment Authority 71 Cherry Street The Port TBD TBD AHO Process Underway. AHO community meeting held on 2/19/25. TBD Homeownership

Page 4 Capstone/Hope 2072 Massachusetts Avenue (AHO-9) Neighborhood Nine 74 0BRs: 0 1BRs: 21 2BRs: 42 3BRs: 11 4+BRs: 0 AHO Process Complete. AHO community meetings held 10/9/24, 10/30/24, and 5/29/25. The Planning Board advisory design meetings held 10/28/25 and 3/24/26. Final Planning Board report issued on 3/24/26 and transmitted to the Trust in its 4/30/26 briefing materials. Seeking funding needed to begin construction. 207 Rental Cambridge Housing Authority 1 Corcoran Lane (Corcoran Park - Phase 1) (AHO- 10) Strawberry Hills 67 0BRs: 0 1BRs: 17 2BRs: 35 3BRs: 15 4+BRs: 0 AHO Process Complete. AHO community meetings held on 2/13/25 and 10/9/25. The Planning Board advisory design meetings held 12/16/25 and 3/10/26. Final Planning Board report issued on 3/31/26 and transmitted to the Trust in its 4/30/26 briefing materials. Seeking funding needed to begin construction. 198 Rental Just A Start 240 Broadway (Broadway Park) (AHO-11) The Port 16 0BRs: 0 1BRs: 1 2BRs: 11 3BRs: 4 4+BRs: 0 AHO Process Complete. AHO community meetings held 1/14/25, 7/24/25, and 11/6/25. The Planning Board advisory design meeting held on 3/10/26. Final Planning Board report issued on 4/6/26 and transmitted to the Trust in its 4/30/26 briefing materials. Seeking funding needed to begin construction. 53 Rental Just A Start 12-14 Laurel Street Cambridgeport 4 0BRs: 0 1BRs: 1 2BRs: 0 3BRs: 3 4+BRs: 0 AHO Process Complete. AHO community meeting held 9/11/25. Seeking funding needed to begin construction. 15 Homeownership Boston Communities and Affordable Housing & Services Collaborative (AHSC) 350 Rindge Avenue North Cambridge ~ 92 0BRs: 0 1BRs: 36 2BRs: 30 3BRs: 26 4+BRs: 0 AHO Process Underway. AHO community meeting held on 6/3/26. 261 Rental Just A Start 1826 & 1840 Massachusetts Avenue Neighborhood Nine TBD TBD AHO Process Underway. TBD Rental Capstone/Hope/MPZ 1, 3, 5 Frost Street & 20, 22, 28 Roseland Street (Frost Terrace II) Baldwin TBD TBD Development anticipated to proceed under the provisions of the AHO. TBD Rental Cambridge Housing Authority 31-37 Mellen Street Baldwin TBD TBD Development anticipated to proceed under the provisions of the AHO. TBD Rental Cambridge Housing Authority 16-28 Porter Street East Cambridge TBD TBD Development anticipated to proceed under the provisions of the AHO. TBD Rental Homeowners Rehab Inc 729-755 Concord Avenue Cambridge Highlands TBD TBD Development anticipated to proceed under the provisions of the AHO. TBD Rental CHA 1 Corcoran Lane (Corcoran Park - Phase 2) Strawberry Hills TBD TBD Development anticipated to proceed under the provisions of the AHO. TBD Rental 0BRs: 0 1BRs: 330 2BRs: 330 3BRs: 244 4+BRs: 26 Estimated Number of Residents To Be Served: 2,740+ 15 AHO developments underway 5 developments anticipated to be advanced in FY27 Unit Count: 930 units +