CWDI sued by Cambridge to prevent sale of land for waterfront district

CAMBRIDGE, Md. – The City of Cambridge is filing suit against Cambridge Waterfront Development Inc., citing the company has not gone through the proper channels and agreed upon covenants to lease out formerly city land to new occupants.

Town Manager Tom Carroll tells WMDT that as part of the covenants signed by the group in 2022, they were to find a master developer to create a master plan for the lots that are part of the waterfront district and harbor expansion projects.

Carroll says that did not happen.

“We had really no choice but to file a lawsuit to stop, CWDI from continuing to, violate the 2022 transfer agreement the city back in 2022 gave CWI, about ten acres of land for $5, and there were agreements that were made, on what they could do with it and how they were supposed to proceed,” Carroll said.

Carroll says CWDI designed itself as a master developer and was set to sell the first piece of land on May 1st. The city’s lawsuit asked for an injunction by the court on that sale.

Carroll says there was a procedure in place, the last step of which would allow CWDI to sell the land and it was not followed.

“They haven’t done that, that they were supposed to make any of those findings, of expressions of interest of parties public, they haven’t done that, and they were supposed to enter into an agreement, to select a master developer, which they couldn’t do because they didn’t do the first thing,” Carroll said.

Carroll says he hopes the court agrees with the city’s findings and moves to vacate the sale. He also calls the CWDI board of directors to resign.

Carroll tells WMDT that he is frustrated with the action of CWDI saying that it has only put the city further behind on meeting its goals.

“We are now at the least two years behind now from where we should be, from where the taxpayers expect us to be,” Carroll said.

WMDT reached out to CWDI and did not hear back.