Malden MBTA Communities zoning

SOLUTIONS

CommunityScale worked with City of Malden staff and the City Council to bring the city into compliance with the Massachusetts MBTA Communities law, one of twelve rapid-transit communities required to comply by the end of 2023. The work spanned several zoning iterations, an extensive community survey, public meetings, a mandatory mixed-use subdistrict, and an Economic Feasibility Assessment of inclusionary zoning across small, medium, and large rental and mixed-use projects. The financial modeling tested return on cost and residual land value with and without inclusionary requirements, accounting for rents, unit mix, and construction, land, and parking costs. Malden adopted the new zoning on December 12, 2023.

Our team worked with the Malden staff and City Council to respond to the MBTA Communities requirements, including several iterations of zoning, an extensive community survey process, public meetings, an Economic Feasibility Assessment (EFA) for Inclusionary Zoning, and a mandatory mixed use subdistrict. The City of Malden is one of the twelve rapid transit communities that had to demonstrate zoning compliance with the new law no later than December 31, 2023.

The EFA covers small, medium, and large rental projects as well as mixed use (retail ground floor, residential above) projects. The financial projections indicate the annual revenues driven by market rate and affordable housing and incorporated factors such as current rents, unit mix and sizes, hard and soft costs, land costs, and parking costs. The result tailors the expected return on cost and residual land value analysis with and without inclusionary zoning.

Find more information on the City’s website.

The new zoning was adopted on December 12, 2023.