Cambridge Waterfront Development Incorporated has selected Baltimore-based MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate as the broker to find developers willing to build Cambridge Harbor.
MacKenzie, a regional multi-pronged real estate company, currently has more than 30 properties open for sale or development on its website. The 30-plus acre Cambridge Harbor site on the Choptank River would be the largest MacKenzie offers.
It also would be one of the few sites on MacKenzie's website that are waterfront locations.
At their meeting last week, CWDI members announced they had made a broker selection, but did not identify MacKenzie. They also announced that a hotel company brand had agreed to operate the proposed hotel at Cambridge Harbor, but did not disclose it. That hotel company is the Tapestry Hotels brand by Hilton.
Tapestry is considered an upscale brand, above Hampton or Tru, but not as high-end as Hilton or its Curio Collection.
CWDI members said at the meeting they was not publicly identifying these selections because final contracts were not complete. CWDI president Angie Hengst and CWDI member Tim Crosby intend to negotiate final terms on the hotel arrangement on their own, without a lawyer, sources said.
CWDI has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars paying the law firm Miles and Stockbridge to attend their meetings and provide advice. It was unclear why CWDI was electing to have its volunteers negotiate complex commercial real estate contracting without an experienced attorney.
Under a 2022 contract with the city of Cambridge, CWDI had agreed to present to the public summaries from all Cambridge Harbor proposals from developers before any are selected.
CWDI, which often states that it operates what it calls a “community first” organization, did not disclose to the community its requirements for brokers or their responses. Nor did it disclose any of the brokers that were under consideration.
Frank Narr, the long-time participant in Cambridge's waterfront development and CWDI's secretary and treasurer, has said CWDI intends to comply with the city's public disclosure requirements when developers submit their proposals.
CWDI members expect that to happen early in 2026.