CAMBRIDGE, MD - The future of the Cambridge waterfront development is in question as the city and the Cambridge Waterfront Development Incorporated (CWDI) find themselves in a legal battle.
The multimillion-dollar project, which is set to include walking and biking trails, restaurants, and retail shops, may face delays as the city and CWDI clash in court. The city filed a lawsuit against CWDI earlier this month, accusing the development company of violating their agreement by attempting to sell land before meeting certain obligations.
According to the city, CWDI was required to fulfill several obligations before selling any land. They allege that CWDI attempted to sell land without fulfilling these promises, prompting the lawsuit.
"All the steps that were required of CWDI to be able to start transferring property to individual developers or a master developer, as we saw best for the project, we completed all those steps," said Matt Leonard, the executive director of CWDI.
However, Commissioner Laurel Atkiss expressed skepticism, stating that she has not seen any proof that CWDI has fulfilled its obligations.
"I've been in meetings pretty constantly about this for the last three weeks, and I haven't seen it," said Atkiss.
CWDI is concerned that the lawsuit will disrupt progress on the project.
"The 30 years of visioning that the community had for the waterfront and the progress being made towards that, being very close to project and deals that would help create and finally realize that vision, has been stopped," Leonard said.
Atkiss explained that the lawsuit will only be withdrawn if CWDI meets the requirements outlined in the agreement.
"It's supposed to be a cooperative effort between a few different entities, and right now the city feels left out of those negotiations, and it feels like every request is either ignored or violated," said Atkiss.
During the city's meeting earlier this week, Commissioner Brian Roche voiced concerns about the progress of the CWDI project. He requested that the city withdraw the lawsuit and further discuss the matter on May 22nd.
"My commentary reflected the fact that we had been provided a confidential memo from our state delegate summarizing the meeting with our state delegate, mayor, Commissioner Atkiss, and representatives from CWDI with a timeline of May 22 that outlined the next steps of the city and waterfront group," Roche said in a statement to WBOC. "I sincerely hope the city will come around on this lawsuit that was advanced by our outgoing city manager, so the community doesn't lose out on what are important near term components of the project," said Brian Roche.