Planning board concludes advisory review of 12‑story affordable housing proposal at 2072 Massachusetts Ave

The Cambridge Planning Board on Oct. 7 concluded an advisory design consultation on a proposed 12‑story, 100% affordable rental building at 2072 Massachusetts Avenue, voting 6‑0 to submit an initial report with design comments to the applicant.

The project team said the proposal would deliver 73 permanently affordable rental homes in a 91,700‑square‑foot building developed under the city’s Affordable Housing Overlay. The development team told the board it would include family‑sized units (about 71% two‑ and three‑bedrooms), 12 units at 30% of area median income and the remainder at or below 60% AMI, passive‑house certification goals, a rooftop garden and 44 long‑term plus one short‑term bicycle parking spaces.

The board and members of the public focused on building massing, the ground floor treatment along Massachusetts Avenue and Walden Street, loading and drop‑off logistics at a busy bus stop, accessibility, preservation of a neighboring tree, rooftop amenity design and indoor air quality concerns tied to mass timber construction. The board’s initial report — which the board voted to send to the applicant — will collect these comments and request responses before the applicant’s second advisory review.

"We're excited," said Sean Hope,…