TheCambridge Record
Agenda ItemsPolicy Orders

POR 2023-82

Asked the City Manager to determine the feasibility of purchasing available property from Lesley University to address City goals

How it started
May 8, 2023 · Proposed by Mayor Siddiqui, Vice Mayor Mallon, Councillors Nolan and Zondervan, Vice Mayor Azeem, and Councillors Carlone, Simmons, McGovern, and Toner: a formal request from the Council to the administration.
What happened
May 8, 2023 · ✅ Order adopted as amended. The Council's request went to the City Manager. (unanimous)

Voted yes (9), unanimous

  • Burhan Azeem
  • Dennis Carlone
  • Alanna Mallon
  • Marc McGovern
  • Patty Nolan
  • E. Denise Simmons
  • Paul F. Toner
  • Quinton Zondervan
  • Sumbul Siddiqui
Roll call of May 8, 2023 · from the council’s minutes · photos: City of Cambridge
What’s next
📨 Answered: the report came back as CMA 2023 #301 (Dec 18, 2023).
Order adopted as amended, unanimousMay 8, 2023
Referred for reportAR 2023-32May 15, 2023
Administration answeredCMA 2023-301Dec 18, 2023 · answered in 217 days

The item's path through the council, every recorded step. How the request pipeline works

The document Agenda item attachment · 1 page

O-2

Lesley University recently announced plans to sell additional underutilized properties, following the release of their campus plan in 2021; and

Following a 2021 policy order, the City worked with Lesley and Homeowners Rehab, Inc. (HRI) to purchase the 1627 Massachusetts Avenue property for affordable housing; and

The City Council has expressed a desire for the City to purchase property for a range of priorities from Pre-K to green space to housing; and

The properties that were recently put on the market by Lesley University, as well as others that may become available, could help address these much-needed priorities; now therefore be it

ORDERED: That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to determine the feasibility of purchasing available property from Lesley University and other sources to address City goals; and be it further

ORDERED: That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to report back to the City Council on the feasibility in a timely manner.

🗓 The meeting where this was taken up: May 8, 2023