DivcoWest breaks ground on 45 acre project

Cambridge, MA DivcoWest joined mayor Denise Simmons, city manager Lou DePasquale and elected officials from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to celebrate the long-awaited re-launch of the 45-acre development site now known as Cambridge Crossing (CX). The group gathered to ceremoniously mark the start of construction of 250 North Street, the first commercial office building to be built at Cambridge Crossing. 250 North St. will be a 430,000 s/f science and technology building, and the first phase of a new neighborhood retail district to be built in the center of CX.

Cambridge Crossing is adjacent to Kendall Sq. and centered within one of the highest concentrations of talent and intellectual capital in the world. Formerly a rail yard, CX will be a new mixed-use neighborhood with research facilities, residential units, and retail amenities in a compact, walkable, and transit- and bicycle-friendly plan that will become an integral part of the existing East Cambridge neighborhood. 

The site will be directly served by two MBTA transit lines.  The new Lechmere Station, part of the Green Line Extension commencing construction this month, will be located on the CX site, and the Orange Line Community College Station is steps away.  

At full buildout, CX will be comprised of 2.1 million s/f of science and technology space, 2,400 new residential units in addition to 2,500 existing units, and 100,000 s/f of retail thoughtfully curated to deliver a unique and local neighborhood experience. The project will also include 11 acres of activated public open spaces, highlighted by a central common area.

DivcoWest founder & CEO Stuart Shiff spoke of his company’s desire to create a world-class development at CX to connect the hearts and minds of future generations of innovators and disruptors with the talent required to challenge the status quo and achieve life-changing and life-saving visions.

“Our goal as a company has always been, and always will be, to add value whenever and wherever we can. If we can help create places where innovators can attract, nurture, and ultimately retain talent, then we will have done our job and given long term value back to those innovators and the community at large,” Shiff said.        

“Great companies driving real change think in terms of forever, not in terms of cycles and that’s exactly how we are approaching CX.  This is an area surrounded by the human electricity of innovation and education, where more Nobel laureates have come from than anywhere in the world.  On behalf of DivcoWest, we are thrilled to embark on our long term commitment to develop a world class community within this former rail yard – a place in which companies, researchers, start-ups, entrepreneurs, visionaries and Nobel laureates, can live, work, play and thrive,” Shiff added.  

 “The City of Cambridge is thrilled to see Cambridge Crossing evolve into this innovation-driven community. It is important that we continue to provide places that allow our local colleges and universities to collaborate with entrepreneurs and industry leaders in solving real world issues, and in developing the next generation of companies,” said Simmons.

“We are making the investments in retail, open spaces and infrastructure that are necessary to make Cambridge Crossing a thriving urban neighborhood and to attract existing commercial office tenants, as well as new tenants locating to the area for the first time,” said Tom Sullivan, president of DivcoWest’s development division. “We are thrilled to launch the project with a new name and brand identity to signify this ‘game changing’ moment for the largest transit-oriented site in the Greater Boston region. We want to thank Cambridge, Somerville, Boston, the State of Massachusetts and the MBTA for their unwavering commitment to working with DivcoWest to make Cambridge Crossing a reality.”