Successful, human-scaled, people-friendly housing projects are going up throughout Cambridge. Examples include Blanchard Road, Jefferson Park, Rindge Ave, and many, many more - all thoughtfully planned, designed and  built on land that fits the developer's design. Winn's planned slab-and-tunnel project, however, is not only unreasonable, ill-conceived, awkward, ugly, and a recipe for a host of problems down the road. It's also too expensive.

We advocate for more affordable housing. Who wouldn't? But ripping up a road, adding heat islands, destroying a mature canopy, and - worst of all - putting a road under a 9 story building resulting in a 250-foot tunnel is sheer folly - especially in an area frequented by hundreds of children and their parents. 

The problem: Privately owned Winn Development Corporation wants to build more industrial, oversized slab-style housing. They plan to cover Walden Square Road with one very large building approximately 9 stories tall and 250 feet long that will destroy a family of seven beautiful, shade providing, cooling, mature trees running from the Yerxa underpass to the basketball court. The ground floor will be a covered parking lot / tunnel that will force foot traffic onto narrow walkways outside the slab. (See image: "proposed building A). Moreover, another new building next to the already immense #21 Walden Sq. Road will eliminate even more green space. (See image proposed building B.)

 

 

 

The solution: Build elsewhere. Petitioners want WinnDevelopment to stop developing this poorly designed and unreasonably expensive project (funded in large part by the city) and focus instead on improving the structures currently in place at Walden Square. Moreover, we want all mature trees on Walden Square Road to be left untouched and the land they are on to be converted into a jointly owned municipal and private park.

Why is this important?

Ask anyone living at the Walden Square apartments how they feel about the construction of 2 large buildings and the addition of nearly 100 apartments smack in the middle of their only main thoroughfare and they will tell you it's a bad idea. Unfortunately, a very high percentage of Walden Square residents do not speak English and are largely unaware of Winn Development's plans.

In public letter written by the mayor to the Cambridge Affordable Housing Trust conditions were identified stating that tenants at Walden Square have been subject to years of neglect and intimidation by Winn. Consequently, they have surrendered to Winn's plan not because they approve it but  because they fear what the repercussions would be.

It's important that we, as Cantabrigians living near and far from Walden Square support our multi-cultural, low income population.

We advocate for: a) Winn's commitment to renovate all existing buildings, b) preserving Walden Square Road as an open air and accessible thoroughfare and c) leaving the mature greenery and tree canopy intact. 

Make no mistake: Winn's plan is for profits first, people second. Now is the time to tell this developer to build - yes - but build elsewhere.

Thank you!