Proposed Affordable Housing
On April 7th, Homeowners Rehabilitation (HRI) and Lesley University announced a sale agreement for 1627 Mass. Ave., formerly Lesley’s Admissions and Visitor Services Center. According to a press release: “The purchase is set to be finalized later this year.” Read more on the City’s website.

Cambridge Community Development sent a Memo to the City Council on this topic. Download it here.

When it’s possible for HRI to say more about the sale, they and the City will attend a Baldwin Neighborhood Council meeting. In the meantime, we welcome your questions. Contact Phoebe Sinclair, Community Liaison at: psinclair@agassiz.org

Why Have So Many BNC Meetings Been Canceled Recently?
Following a closure in 2020, during the height of the first wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic, BNC returned and engaged a number of long-term projects. Although several have concluded, these efforts have required intense focus and energy. Read below for a non-exhaustive list of what community members, BNC staff, and our neighbors along Mass. Ave. have been working on, both as part of monthly BNC meetings and outside of them:

• Between January 2020 and August 2021, the community engaged in a process around the neighborhood’s name.
• In fall 2021, the Neighborhood Council discussed its own name and voted to become the Baldwin Neighborhood Council.
• In early 2022, with the conclusion of the Neighborhood Council’s process, the nonprofit organization, Agassiz Baldwin Community, re-initiated discussions about its name. This process is on-going.
• Related, several Baldwin residents have engaged in separate projects exploring 1.) a new logo for the Baldwin Neighborhood Council and 2.) a way to mark and celebrate educator Maria L. Baldwin’s legacy. To learn more, contact psinclair@agassiz.org
• Phoebe Sinclair and several Baldwin residents have attended City-led meetings focused on supporting organized community groups in Cambridge.
• Our close neighbors Porter Square Neighbors Association and a group of business owners and community members created an effort called Mass Ave for All, responding to changes proposed for Mass. Ave. related to the Cambridge Cycling Safety Ordinance. Learn about upcoming meetings and other information via the City’s website at: