How the New CambridgeSide Will Revitalize East Cambridge

With a choice location steps from Kendall Square and Boston, CambridgeSide has always been a favorite place to visit. A new vision, however, reimagines CambridgeSide as not only a center for shopping and dining but also for working and living. The new CambridgeSide adds office, lab, residential, and open space to the many shops and restaurants for both residents and visitors to enjoy.

On levels one and two, favorite brands—like Apple, Sephora, The Cheesecake Factory, and more—will remain open. An updated First Street and Canal Park will include more stores and restaurants as well as beautiful places to enjoy and connect. The lively design will feature wider sidewalks, additional plantings, and more amenities for pedestrians and cyclists. Additional landscaping and improvements will better connect CambridgeSide to Lechmere Canal Park and the Charles River.

The future of CambridgeSide will include office, life science, and residential space. Level three has already been transformed into office space. As part of the project’s commitment to affordable housing, 65 percent of the residential units will be affordable to low- and middle-income households, including a significant number of family-sized units. Planners estimate the project will generate 3,000 new, permanent jobs in addition to the 1,200 positions already existing in the center. While CambridgeSide will certainly look different, the plan honors the property’s mixed-use origins, while providing new opportunities for people to work, live, and play.

Area residents can count on a few additional perks as well. A new community meeting space will host groups at no charge, and the plans include space for a daycare facility. Local artists will receive increased opportunities to perform, display, and sell their work at CambridgeSide and Canal Park as well. Nonprofits like East End House, East Cambridge Scholarship Fund, Cambridge Arts Initiative, and City of Cambridge’s Tree Replacement Fund will also receive donations from CambridgeSide as part of the project plan.

Don’t worry, though, if you’re planning on doing your holiday shopping at CambridgeSide. The center is and will remain open for the entirety of the project.

Learn more about New England Development’s vision for the new CambridgeSide here.