A petition was received from the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority to amend the KENDALL SQUARE URBAN RENEWAL AREA

A. Project Boundary Description B. Map 1: Proposed Land Use Maps C. Map 2: Property Map D. Original Relocation Plan Objectives and Methodology E. Definition of Pedestrian Ways F. Loading Requirements

FORWARD TO PLAN AMENDMENTS 10 AND 11 REGARDING THE RE-STATED

KENDALL SQUARE URBAN RENEWALREDEVELOPMENT PLAN

In the nearly forty years since the adoption of Amendment 1 to the Kendall Square Urban Renewal Plan (Plan), the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority (CRA) has adopted many changes to the Plan in response to the dynamic development environment in Cambridge. The execution of the Plan within the Project Area has been a key catalyst to the overall transformation of the Kendall Square neighborhood. The emergence of Kendall Square as a center of innovation, creativity and technology has exceeded the expectation of the planners, designers, and developers who first drafted the Plan in 1977.

The CRA adopted Amendment 10 in December 2015, in order to aim to reflect these changes and to chart a way forward in furtherance of the recommendations from the 2013 K2 Planning Study. The update of the Plan’s objectives reflected not only the important work of bringing jobs to Kendall Square, but also the larger goal of creating a sustainable, inviting, and inclusive neighborhood. As in prior adopted amendments, the proposed a Amendment No.

10 increases increased the development limits to reflect the continued demand for commercial and laboratory space, with an emphasis on bringing additional housing and retail to the Project Area. New provisions will assist the CRA in linking transit investment to development, aiming to ensure that the Project Area’s transit assets grow along with it.

Provisions for innovation space and affordable housing are were included so that Kendall Square remains not only a destination for the great thinkers of today, but also a laboratory for the great ideas of tomorrow and a great urban neighborhood for Cambridge.

The Plan under Amendment 10 was re-stated, not remade anew. Consequently, some sections - such as those discussing land clearance - addressed matters already undertaken, and have been were modified accordingly to reflect things that happened in the past. This is was by design as the document is meant not only to guide Kendall Square’s development in the future, but also to tell the story of its past. For this reason, bracketed numbers appearing at the ends of paragraphs throughout the Plan indicate where language has been changed, and sometimes changed again and again. The bracketed numbers identify which plan amendment facilitated the revisions.

The CRA is proposing Amendment 11 to the Plan for two reasons. The first is to accommodate the relocation of a planned electrical substation within the MXD District. This site would move the infrastructure facility out of the residential neighborhoods along Fulkerson Street to the location of an existing above ground parking garage. There are many complex technical and financial challenges associated with relocating the substation to this parcel.

The proposed MXD site involves not only the design of the substation and high voltage access routes to the location, but also completing plans for the housing program outlined in the current Infill Development Concept Plan, fulfilling interim and future parking requirements, and designing locations for additional development to provide financial support for this alternative location.

The second reason to undertake this Amendment 11 is to rename the Kendall Square Urban Renewal Plan the Kendall Square Urban Redevelopment Plan (sometimes referred to in this Amendment as the “Plan.”). The reason for this proposed title change is to recognize that the

urban renewal programs of redevelopment authorities throughout the country have had a disproportionate impact on communities of color, and in many cases implemented overtly racist urban policies. While the redevelopment of Kendall Square involved mostly industrial and commercial land, approximately ten households were relocated from the project area through the federally sponsored urban renewal program.

Although there is no evidence of outward racism in the implementation of the plan, the CRA wishes to acknowledge the historic and cumulative impact of our nation’s urban renewal programs, particularly on Black communities.

Moving forward, the CRA is committed to improving our community engagement to amplify the voices of communities of color, and by implementing projects and programs that provide economic opportunities, quality of life improvements and other equity focused outcomes, and that serve communities of color, both within Kendall Square and throughout the surrounding neighborhoods.

Amendment 11 follows the same approach toward restating the Plan text as Amendment 10 did five years ago. The proposed language changes of Amendment 11 are designated with underlined and strikethrough text. Formatting updates and clarifications of defined terms are not highlighted or numbered. The term “urban renewal” is replaced throughout the Plan, except where there is a specific reference to historic activities under the state and federal programs at the time.

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CHAPTER 1: DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT

This document, prepared by the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority (CRA), sets forth a plan for urban renewal action in the so-called Kendall Square Area of Cambridge, in accordance with the terms of Section 48 and other applicable provisions of Chapter 121B of the Massachusetts General Laws, and with the provisions of the U.S. Housing Act of 1949 as amended.

Section 101: Boundaries of the Project Area

The project is situated in an area bounded generally by Main Street, the land or right of way now or formerly of the Boston and Albany (Grand Junction) Branch Railroad, Binney Street, and Third Street.

A description of the perimeter boundary of the project area is attached hereto as Exhibit A of the Urban Renewal Urban Redevelopment Plan and is made a part hereof as if fully set forth herein. [11]

The perimeter boundary of the project area is shown on Map 1: Proposed Land Use

Plan, which is attached hereto as Exhibit B of the Urban Renewal Urban Redevelopment

Plan and made a part hereof as if fully set forth herein. [11]

As shown on Map l Proposed Land Use Plan, that portion of the project area which has not been conveyed to the United States of America (and which is bounded generally by Binney Street on the North, the Boston and Albany (Grand Junction) Branch Railroad on the west, Main Street on the South and discontinued Sixth Street and Broadway on the East) is hereinafter described as the “MXD District” or “MXD District portion” and the remaining portion of the Project Area is hereinafter described as the “remainder of the project area.”[10]

Section 102: Urban Renewal Redevelopment Plan Objectives

The Urban Renewal Urban Redevelopment Plan objectives of the project are as follows: [11]