297 Medford Street

ABOUT

In partnership with Somerville Community Land Trust, Just A Start is proposing to transform the vacant lot at 297 Medford Street into permanently affordable homes that strengthen the surrounding community. The site, located near Somerville’s Central Hill Campus, is a short walk to the Gilman Square station on the Green Line, Somerville High School, Somerville Public Library Central Branch, and abuts the Somerville Community Path. This collaboration with Somerville Community Land Trust will create high quality, affordable homes near transit.

Project Manager: Connor Ring

Email: [email protected]
Phone: 617-918-7559

A New Chapter in Somerville

Once home to an autobody shop, the 297 Medford Street site has stood vacant since 2021. When the longtime owners began looking for a buyer, they hoped the property would continue to serve the community. That vision led to a partnership between Just A Start and the Somerville Community Land Trust. Together, they will ensure long-term affordability and community stewardship.

TEAM MEMBERS

Just A Start

Founded in 1968, Just A Start is a community development corporation with a mission to promote equity to create access to stable housing and build pathways to economic opportunity. We build equitable and thriving communities by guiding individuals and families on their path to economic stability through affordable housing, career training, and comprehensive support services. For over 50 years Just A Start has served Somerville and Cambridge through housing assistance, career training, youth education, and financial opportunity programs. We have developed over 600 rental apartments of affordable family housing and 130 affordable homes. Our workforce development programs include Biomedical and IT training and the YouthBuild program. We also offer financial coaching and tax prep through our Financial Opportunity program, and comprehensive support for families towards financial and social well-being through the Families Moving Forward program. Annually, Just A Start serves over 2,600 people.

Somerville Community Land Trust

Somerville Community Land Trust (SCLT) has a vision to decommodify Somerville’s housing stock by removing land and property from a speculative real estate market and bringing it under community control in the form of permanently affordable housing. Our housing serves diverse low- and moderate income families who form the city's social and cultural fabric. In this way, we work to build community power and promote neighborhood stability. In response to an ongoing housing crisis, SCLT was established in 2019. We practice a democratic and participatory approach to neighborhood development and decision-making to ensure self-identified community interests are at the forefront of our work. SCLT stewards four properties that are under community control. They include eleven homes, across two multifamilies. We look forward to increasing our footprint with more than fifty more homes in our project pipeline, and deepening our impact in the community in partnership with allies like Just A Start. For more information, please visit www.somervillecommunitylandtrust.org.

Prellwitz Chilinski Associates

Founded in 1982, PCA brings an uncommon blend of business insight and creative problem-solving to each of our projects. With expertise in architecture, planning and interior design, the results speak for themselves: thoughtful, award-winning design that has generated one success after another for clients — projects that both thrive in the marketplace and bring lasting value to the community. For more information, please visit www.pcadesign.com.