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The Cambridge Redevelopment Authority voted, on Wednesday, to purchase an underutilized parking lot from the Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House, a local non-profit which operates a food pantry for Cambridge residents.
Under the agreement, which is valued at around $4 million, the CRA will construct new affordable housing units on the 9,000 square-foot lot. The MFNH will use the money they receive from the sale to renovate their historic building and expand their existing food pantry.
The MFNH agreed to the terms of the transaction earlier this month. It includes the forgiveness of a $250,000 loan which MFNH borrowed from the CRA in 2019 and the $3.5 million land purchase agreement.
The CRA has been working to secure a deal with the MFNH since 2018, and at the Wednesday meeting, the organization’s five-person board voted unanimously to approve the final agreement.
“This will be part of our mission to deliver mixed income housing here in Cambridge,” Alex Cardelle, a project manager at the CRA, said during the meeting. “We’ve been on this project for many, many years.”
The CRA will now begin to search for a development partner to help implement their project, which aims to build between 10,000 and 20,000 square feet of new units as part of their commitment to the City of Cambridge to build low- and middle-income housing.
The agreement will also help prevent further deterioration of the MFNH’s main building, which was originally constructed in 1807. The organization uses the space to host workshops, provide financial support to families, as well as to run their food pantry.
The MFNH’s current pantry is an underground, half-story height facility that serves around 6,000 guests annually. At the July meeting, the CRA outlined problems with the current space, which include accessibility issues when entering and exiting and “very cramped” conditions that are “inadequate for current needs.”
The MFNH was one of the first settlement houses in the United States to provide resources to low-income residents when it first opened its doors in 1902. In 1984, the house was designated a National Historic Landmark.
Originally, the CRA had planned to aid MFNH in their effort to renovate the house and expand the pantry alongside the agency’s own affordable housing project. But concerns from developers and new multifamily zoning regulations led to logistical challenges, causing the parties to sever the projects in July.
But while the CRA will not be directly involved in the house’s renovations, they will take on an advisory role in the construction project.
Wednesday’s vote allows CRA executive director Tom Evans to enter into the purchase and sale agreement. After a 30-day due diligence period, the board will reconvene early next year to provide final authorization and close the deal.
—Staff writer Stephanie Dragoi can be reached at stephanie.dragoi@thecrimson.com.
—Staff writer Thamini Vijeyasingam can be reached at thamini.vijeyasingam@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @vijeyasingam.
