CAMBRIDGE - Cambridge Waterfront Development Inc. hosted Secretary Kenneth C. Holt and a team from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development along with Gov. Larry Hogan’s Deputy Chief of Staff Allison Mayer for a tour earlier this month featuring the ongoing revitalization of the former Phillip's Seafood packing house.

The tour was followed by a presentation of CDWI’s plans for development and management of the mixed-use, waterfront site. The tour with Secretary Holt’s team was just one of several recent milestones in the waterfront redevelopment.

“Each time I visit and tour the CWDI site, I am impressed and inspired by the ongoing progress,” said Holt. “This project will truly transform the landscape of Cambridge, adding jobs, attracting tourists, and advancing economic and cultural growth in this historic city for current and future generations.”

As part of their efforts to include Cambridge residents in their planning, CWDI hosted a branding event at Cambridge-South Dorchester High School. Over 200 community members attended the event where Dion Banks, a member of the project’s Branding Working Group, and Brennan Murray, of BCT Design Group, presented the working group’s process. The working group used a series of exercises and held a discussion to finalize three potential names - Cambridge Harbor, Port Cambridge or Waterfront Cambridge.

“We worked diligently to develop names for the waterfront project that represented our community,” said Banks of the year-long process. “Our city and county are unique because of our ties to the water, our appreciation for our heritage, and our sense of community. We must use this naming opportunity to celebrate who we are and share it with others.”

The final name will be announced at CWDI’s next board meeting based on comments received from the community and recommendations from the working group.

Along with the branding event, CWDI unveiled its current and nearly final concept site plan. Bob Northfield, of BCT Design Group, gave a general overview of the plan. Northfield encouraged community members to comment on the concept plan through a web-based survey. The survey will remain open until May 8. The name and site plan must be finalized in order to issue a Request for Proposal/Expressions of Interest for the project, which CWDI expects to release in early June to secure additional private investment.

CWDI has learned that it has received an additional public investment of $5 million authorized by Gov. Hogan in Maryland’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget. The funds will be used to demolish existing buildings and clear and help continue planning the site for development.

“We are extremely grateful to our state partners for their continued support, and our local community for their interest and involvement,” CDWI Executive Director Matt Leonard said. “Nonprofits like CWDI, who apply the best private business practices to a public mission, rely on a mix of public, private and earned funds to attain and sustain a vision. We continue improving our operating and business models to access funding and engage the community to ensure that our development and management of this project truly benefits the community.”

For more information about CWDI, please contact Leonard at matt.leonard@cwdimd.org.