The new pair of six-story buildings comprise the residential component of the site known as 40 Roland, and are knit thoughtfully into their neighborhood's surrounding context. Both 128 and 145 Cambridge Street are graceful in their street-level presence, scaled in harmony with their neighbors, and create outdoor terrace amenities for their residents. The façades of both buildings are subtly staggered with their angled façade planes, which soften and vary the experience of the buildings from all perspectives. A dynamic framework of windows and balconies gives life to their exterior faces by with steps, shifts, and creative shaping of the buildings, reducing the visual and environmental impacts — while providing well-appointed tenant amenities.

The character and exterior materials of 145 Cambridge respond to the homes in the adjacent neighborhoods. Carefully selected façade materials reinterpret the surrounding Lost Village/East Somerville vernacular in warm contemporary ways that employ mild, contrasting tones to complement the breaks and terracing of the building. The two buildings include studio, one-bed, two-bed, and three-bedroom apartments and will feature 20% affordable units on flexible and efficient floorplates. There will be significant upgrades to the public realm, including a retail-lined new 5,500-square-foot pocket park. The projects will be an important part of the transformation of this aging industrial neighborhood to create a reinvigorated identity, and will breathe life into the already-budding mixed-use community at the edge of Sullivan Square.

Link to the life science building at the 40 Roland site here