Volpe Center Parcel Redevelopment

About Volpe Center Parcel Redevelopment

55 Broadway, Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA

14-acre United States General Services Administration (GSA)-owned parcel located in the heart of Kendall Square which will be redeveloped in multiple phases by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). MIT will pay the GSA $750 million for the right to own and develop the parcel. Per the GSA and MIT’s agreement, MIT will first construct a new building to house the Volpe Center on a 4-acre section of the parcel, which will be owned by the GSA. The existing 375,000 square foot Volpe Center office building will be demolished. MIT will then develop the remaining 10 acres of the parcel, which will be owned by MIT.

MIT plans to develop housing, commercial and lab space, retail, open space and a variety of active community uses on the remaining 10 acres of the Volpe Center. In total, MIT proposes to construct approximately 1.7 million square feet of commercial development, including retail and active street uses, and approximately 1,400 housing units. 40% of the development would be comprised of housing, including 280 permanently subsidized affordable units and 20 middle-income units. A minimum of 5% of the development would be comprised of innovation space for entrepreneurship and incubator activity. 

The City of Cambridge has approved MIT’s zoning petition to construct buildings up to 500 feet tall at the Volpe Center; building heights would range from 170 to 500 feet. A minimum of 65% of ground floors on the main streets of the Volpe parcel would contain retail and active street uses. A minimum of 25% of MIT’s 10 acres, approximately 2.5 acres, would feature open space.