CAMBRIDGE - At its April 28 board meeting, Cambridge Waterfront Development Inc. voted to brand its development area Cambridge Harbor and adopt the brand’s tagline, “Lured by the water, kept by the heritage.”

This final selection of a brand begins a new phase for the long-envisioned development of Cambridge’s most prominent waterfront property. Encompassing all 35 acres of CWDI’s development envelope, the Cambridge Harbor brand will coexist with the well-established Sailwinds Park name.

“The open access public area already in existence and known as Sailwinds Park is the heart of the waterfront property,” said Matt Leonard, CWDI’s executive director. “CWDI is committed to improving, fully activating and maintaining that space.”

The vote of the CWDI Board ends a year-long process led by a local working group, which included a public branding workshop on April 7, managed by Brennan Murray, BCT Design Group’s Studio Director of Branding & Graphics. Mr. Murray describes the process as a welcomed success.

“Authentic developments depend on various methods of communication with the community. Open knowledge sharing sessions, direct-response surveys, in-person public workshops, and diverse focus groups are all tools we have used to have a conversation with Cambridge as a community," said Mr. Murray. "We continued to uncover during our work sessions that there were two things that draw people to this place, water and heritage. Many comments from the public workshop confirmed that the community appreciated the sensitivity around the site's naming and felt the process reflected Cambridge's unique historical, cultural and ecological position.”

Along with tallying the dots used during the public workshop, written comments received from the participants reinforced the community’s connection to the Cambridge Harbor brand, including: “You (all) did a thorough job of ‘digging up’ all the things that make Cambridge, ‘Cambridge,’” “Cambridge Harbor speaks to our past, our future,” “I grew up in New England. Harbors both have industry and recreation which is important to Cambridge and its history,” and “It captures what we have, and hopefully where we are going.”

“Having an effective place name - a brand with which people can identify -helps us distinguish and promote the site,” said Mr. Leonard. “It sets the tone for those who will help us develop it and for the community and visitors who will enjoy it for generations to come.”

CWDI and BCT will now begin the process of building out branding and marketing collaterals based on the Cambridge Harbor name. These include logos, signage, style guides and merchandise. CWDI will make additional announcements as these are completed.

For more information about CWDI and the waterfront development project, please contact Leonard at matt.leonard@cwdimd.org.