Newsletter #50, Oct. 26, 2025 – Alewife Study Group

The ASG Newsletter includes the following articles:

Path Safety updates – getting around
IQHQ updates – new tenant & more
Linear Park Closing on Monday (10/27)
Proposal for Safer Bike and Pedestrian Connections Across Rindge Ave
Coalition forming to end sewage dumping into Alewife Brook, Charles River, and Mystic River

Path Safety Updates – getting around

Thank You Neighbors!! And IQHQ, City Council, City Staff, State Reps!

Beginning this summer, neighbors’ growing concerns about safety on the paths criss-crossing the rectangle of land bounded by Rindge, Clifton, Whittemore and Alewife Brook Parkway, made improving Path Safety an ASG priority. On the Whittemore side of the neighborhood, many of the path lights did not work and the emergency phones didn’t work. All around the area, discarded used needles multiplied. Encampments grew and with them the need for social services.

Meantime, with the looming shutdown of Linear Park for extensive renovations, we would soon have no options but to use pitch-black paths, nicknamed Red Riding Hood’s Curve and The Scary Path to walk or bike between the Whittemore Ave area and Alewife T station, the kids’ playing fields, plus other locations and paths.

Complicating everything, different parts of this rectangle of land are owned by five different organizations: the City of Cambridge, the Mass Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), the Mass Department of Transportation (MassDOT), IQHQ and the MBTA. Plus, a path might have one owner, but the streetlights would have another owner. Cambridge’s GIS maps show some parcels with no ownership listed.

ASG first reached out to IQHQ, asking if they would allow the public to cross their property despite ongoing construction. IQHQ accelerated the building and lighting of sidewalks inside their property and opened them to the public. (See the map with green lines denoting the IQHQ paths for public use.) And just in the nick of time! Linear Park construction begins this Monday, October 27.

Note: All three of the maps linked above can also be found in the Transportation Section of the ASG Website.

Next, ASG worked with IQHQ, Cambridge City staff and Councilors Ayesha Wilson, Patty Nolan and Paul Toner, who also reached out to City Staff. Together we got the lights and emergency phones working. The City Staff brought an innovative used-needle collection program to Russell Field: 20 cents per used needle for a maximum of $10. And, City Staff added a used needle collection box by the Rindge Ave bus turnaround.

We reached out to our state reps, Dave Rogers and Steve Owens, asking them to help DCR, DOT and the MBTA take responsibility for maintenance. They have been very responsive. Still, getting consistent maintenance of the multiple areas from the various property owners will take time and attention!

Now, on a regular basis, DCR together with the City, reaches out to unhoused people offering services, shelter chief among them. After three weeks, DCR cleans up any encampments that are still in place.

Neighbors stepped forward to research property ownership and create a layered GIS map that will show, for example, who has responsibility for shoveling snow in a given area. And, we are working to identify a contact person, as well as their contact info, so we can all help to improve the safety and pleasantness of that rectangle of land smack dab in the middle of our neighborhood.

Next Steps

We will share that ownership map on our website as soon as possible. We will also share relevant developments on path safety as we get them.

IQHQ updates – new tenant and more

IQHQ has first tenant at their North Cambridge project

IQHQ purchased the former W.R. Grace and One Alewife properties (just north of Russell Field and the Alewife MBTA headhouse) in 2020. IQHQ is redeveloping these properties into life sciences office and lab buildings. IQHQ calls this project Alewife Park.

So far, IQHQ has renovated two existing buildings and built one new building. They plan to build a parking garage and two more buildings.

Earlier this month, IQHQ announced that Lila Sciences will be their first tenant at Alewife Park.

Lila Sciences started in 2023, and went public in March of this year. They plan to use AI computing and robotics for research, especially about life, chemistry, and materials science. See the Estimated Timelines section below for when and where Lila Sciences will move into One Alewife.

For more information, see:

Estimated Timelines for next phases of occupancy and construction at IQHQ

Lila Sciences (new tenant):

November 2025: Move into 4th floor of 1 Alewife Park, formerly IQHQ Building 1, and before that One Alewife. This is the large red brick building on the western end of Whittemore Ave, near the intersection with Alewife Parkway.
1st quarter of 2026: Move into half of 1st floor of 1 Alewife Park, after completion of interior construction
End of 2026: Occupy all of 5 Alewife Park (formerly IQHQ Building 3) after completion of interior construction. This is the large new building on Whittemore Ave and across from Harrison Ave.

Promenade and Central Plaza between IQHQ buildings: Currently under construction, will be completed and open to the public around the end of 2025

4 Alewife Park, just south of 5 Alewife Park building: Concrete work (northern foundation wall and capping other steel piles) is currently under construction, completion around end of 2025

3 Alewife Park (formerly IQHQ Building 2), in between 1 and 5 Alewife Park buildings: Interior amenities (restaurant and retail) and property management office – Begin construction late 2025, completion around end of 2026

Jerry’s Pond Improvements: Begin construction near the end of 2025, completion by end of 2026

MBTA Alewife Station Headhouse Plaza Improvements: Begin construction in 2nd quarter of 2026, completion in 4th quarter of 2026

For more information about IQHQ’s Jerry’s Pond and Alewife Station Headhouse Plaza Improvements, see the One Alewife Park Community Benefits webpage.

Soil removal and remediation for above construction

IQHQ has committed to following all federal, state, and local environmental regulations during their upcoming construction work, as they have with their previous work at this site. IQHQ and their Licensed Site Professional (Haley and Aldrich) will continue to review their plans with ASG, as the Public Involvement Plan (PIP) liaison for the community. The Jerry’s Pond and other upcoming construction work will include some soil removal and remediation. ASG will post updates about this work in future issues of our newsletter.

Linear Park Closing on Monday (10/27)

On Monday (10/27) the Linear Park will be closed for construction for approximately one year. The planned detour routes can be found here.

ASG worked with IQHQ and the City to ensure that there would still be a connection between Whittemore Ave and Harvey St. ASG has now confirmed that this connection is in place. It will go along the sidewalk on Harvey St, then on a short temporary asphalt path along the side of IQHQ’s property, near the temporary power systems, and then connect to IQHQ’s new sidewalk that runs along their east service road and east parking lot (the one with solar panels). Cambridge has communicated to ASG that the path is ADA accessible, and the pavement profile was minimized. Installation over existing tree roots without excavation was their preferred approach in order to protect trees.

The project was delayed due to a temporary restraining order that was granted based on a lawsuit filed by Cambridge4Trees (more info on the lawsuit here). The judge ultimately ruled in favor of the City of Cambridge and their ruling can be found here. One of the concerns in the lawsuit was that construction would take place on land subject to an Activity and Use Limitation (AUL) due to asbestos and other contamination. ASG has confirmed with Cambridge that, while a small amount of work in the AUL is shown on the plans, the current scope of work will stop before this small area (near the Western edge of the Linear Park as the path turns towards Alewife Station). ASG will stay in communication with Cambridge to ensure that any work close to contaminated soil is done safely, and follows all applicable federal, state, and local regulations.

For more info, Cambridge has two different websites about the project. One website provides an overview of the redesign process and plans and the other provides construction updates.

Proposal for Safer Bike and Pedestrian Connections Across Rindge Ave

City councilor Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler has introduced Policy Order #154 that will be considered at the City Council meeting this Monday, October 27. The policy order asks the City Manager to:

“…examine how to improve connectivity north of Rindge Avenue so that vulnerable road users can bypass Rindge Avenue and Cedar Street where possible, considering neighborways treatments, traffic calming measures such as those in Cambridge’s new speed hump pilot program, contraflow bike travel on appropriate low-volume streets, wayfinding, and intersection safety improvements.”

If you live in North Cambridge, or otherwise use Rindge Ave, and you would like to see traffic calming along Rindge and/or better connectivity across Rindge, consider writing a comment in support using the following email addresses and subject line:

To: council@cambridgema.gov, clerk@cambridgema.gov

Subject: Please support PO #154 on safe traffic infrastructure in North Cambridge

Or here is the link to sign-up for public comment on Monday October 27 at 5:30pm via Zoom or in-person.

This policy order was supported by bike advocates in the neighborhood and you can find more info about their proposal for a North Cambridge Neighborway and a related petition here.

Coalition forming to end sewage dumping into Alewife Brook, Charles River, and Mystic River

The planning process to create a Long-Term Control Plan for Combined Sewer Overflows into Alewife Brook, the Mystic River, and the Charles River continues. Because raw sewage continues to flow into these rivers during rain storms, a variance is needed to allow for this pollution, and plans must be made to control the pollution over time. The plan is being produced by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA), Cambridge, and Somerville. More info about the process so far can be found here.

The Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA), the Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA), and Save the Alewife Brook have been involved in this planning process for years. Last week we got a first look at the “preferred alternative” during a Somerville city council meeting. The current plans are for “No CSOs in a 2050 typical year”. On the surface this sounds like a good outcome, but, because a typical year is based on averages, this would still mean sewage following into the rivers.

MWRA is resistant to funding more ambitious solutions that would protect neighboring communities from this harmful and gross pollution during larger storms that will become more common with climate change. The draft long-term control plan will be formally submitted at the end of the year and there will be ~1 year for additional comments. To create a better, long-term solution to this problem we will need to work together to make our concerns heard. Save the Alewife Brook is forming a coalition to end sewage pollution for that purpose. ASG has reviewed their initial goals and is supportive of the coalition. Stay tuned for more details and ways to get involved.