Low-Income Community Opens in Cambridge, Mass.
The 40-unit Temple Place Apartments was built by the Cambridge Housing Authority and designed by HMFH Architects.
By Bogdan Odagescu, Associate Editor
Temple Place Apartments, Cambridge, Mass.
Cambridge, Mass.—The six-story, 40-unit Temple Place Apartments, a low- and moderate- income community developed by the Cambridge Housing Authority (CHA), was recently completed in Cambridge, Mass.
Located at 7 Temple St. and steps away from Central Square, the development was built on the site of Cambridge YWCA’s former inside pool. The new affordable community sits across the street from HMFH Architects, the designers of the project. Boston-area company Nauset Construction was also involved in the development.
Showcasing 15 one- and 25 two-bedroom units, the building also offers 18 surface parking spaces. Designed to maximize energy efficiency, the Temple Place apartments were designed to achieve Enterprise Green Communities certification.
Sitting midway between Harvard Square and MIT, the building is situated within one of the hottest markets in the country and is ideally situated both for public transportation and most amenities. “We’re glad we can make the units available to folks who would otherwise be excluded from the housing market (…) This is a real opportunity to keep low income families in Cambridge. Without housing like Temple Place, these families have no hope of residing in Cambridge,” said Gregory Russ, executive director of the CHA.
The public-private partnership that made the Temple Place project possible comprises a handful of entities. The land is owned and leased by the Cambridge YWCA through a 99-year agreement, while funding was secured through the City of Cambridge Affordable Housing Trust, City of Cambridge Home Funds, Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, Massachusetts Affordable Housing Trust, Federal Home Loan Bank, East Cambridge Savings Bank and Tax Credit Equity.
Image courtesy of HMFH Architects
