CAMBRIDGE — Cambridge Waterfront Development Inc. Executive Director Matt Leonard sees the lawsuit filed earlier this month against CWDI by the Commissioners of Cambridge as a threat to the progress of the Cambridge Harbor project.
“We had no choice but to respond,” Leonard said in a press release May 14. “The city’s lawsuit has its facts wrong and threatens the significant progress CWDI is making on behalf of the community to finally realize the 30-year vision for Cambridge’s waterfront.”
On May 14, CWDI and CWDI Holdings filed a response to the lawsuit filed against them and Yacht Maintenance Company in Dorchester County Circuit Court on May 1.
The lawsuit, which was amended May 3, alleges CWDI is in violation of a transfer agreement it entered into with the city in June 2021. It seeks $75,000 in damages and requests temporary, preliminary and permanent injunctions stopping defendants from transferring any portion of the property in violation of the covenants of the 2021 transfer agreement.
According to court documents, CWDI’s May 14 response to the suit argues that the city’s complaint “is the product of the well-publicized frustrations of the recently departed city manager,” Tom Carroll. The response alleges Carroll has “sought to undermine CWDI” for the past eight months.
CWDI’s response replies to the commissioners’ claims about the property transfer agreement and the right of CWDI Holdings to be in possession of the property.
In the lawsuit filed May 1, the commissioners mention Section 6E of the transfer agreement, which states, “no portion of the property may be transferred unless the proposed use of the subject parcel(s) is ‘shovel ready’ (with permits, financing and groundbreaking within 90-days of closing)...”
The May 1 suit also mentions Exhibit C of the agreement that “CWDI will not transfer, subdivide or encumber all or any portion of the property” until reaching a definitive agreement with a developer or developers. That developer must come from a developer request for proposal process, which is outlined in the transfer agreement.
The commissioners argue in the May 1 lawsuit that CWDI violated this in March 2022 by transferring city-donated property to CWDI Holdings, a limited liability company.
CWDI states in its response that the city and CWDI agreed to CWDI creating CWDI Holdings to hold title to property named in the property transfer agreement. CWDI also states this was agreed to in a 2022 amendment to a 2014 state transfer agreement.
In response to city allegations that CWDI has not gone through the request for proposal process to choose a developer, CWDI alleges in court documents that Exhibit C of the transfer agreement gives leeway to seek a master developer or combination of individual project developers for all or parts of the Cambridge Harbor project. CWDI states it issued a request for proposals, called “Request for Expressions of Interest for Redevelopment,” on July 15 and issued a press release Nov. 22 summarizing proposals it had received.
In its response, CWDI discusses its plans to sell a piece of property from the 2021 transfer agreement to Yacht Maintenance. In the court document, CWDI states that it has been transparent with its intentions regarding Yacht Maintenance. It says CWDI would “routinely” update the city on the status of negotiations to convey the property to Yacht Maintenance.
CWDI’s response states that the lot line revision needed for the sale of the property had been finalized and executed by both parties and delivered to Cambridge’s Planning and Zoning Department on April 29.
“CWDI cannot conceive of any legitimate explanation why, more than two weeks later, the document has not yet been signed and recorded,” the court document says.
The press release — sent out the same day as the response was filed — states CWDI is tasked with developing the waterfront using a “community-first approach consistent with the community’s long-term vision. It says the realization of that vision is threatened by the city’s actions.
The press release says the city eliminated “baseless claims” that CWDI illegally transferred property from its amended lawsuit on May 3.
“Someone advising the city commissioners must have finally read all the transfer documents, and not just the one the city used in their original filing,” CWDI Board President Angie Hengst said. “So they pulled that claim in their amended filing.”
The press release also states that the amended lawsuit does not contain language asserting there could not be an imminent hotel deal.
The lawsuit filed May 1 mentions CWDI’s “imminent” agreement with a boutique hotel developer, which Hengst said was nearing signing at a CWDI Board of Directors meeting March 20. The lawsuit states it is “highly unlikely” that the deal is imminent because “any established hotelier would conduct significant due diligence,” which includes inquiring the city about various aspects of the project. The lawsuit says the city has not received any inquiries.
“Whoever advised the city commissioners that there was no way CWDI could have a hotel deal ready to sign clearly has no idea how property development works or community development or economic development,” Leonard said in the press release.
Hengst said that with CWDI’s response to the lawsuit filed May 14, the board hopes the city commissioners have all of the facts to withdraw the lawsuit “and return to a more collaborative path with us and the other partners.”
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