On Sept. 12, the Cambridge City Council voted to approve the Community Preservation Act committee’s recommendations to allocate $25,000 towards a historic structure report and roof repair of the Powder House at Magazine Beach. The Cambridgeport Neighborhood Association has been advocating for this funding for the past several months.

Last week, the City Council approved the allocation of CPA funds with 80 percent going towards affordable housing, 10 percent going to historic preservation and 10 percent going towards open space. In total, more than $650,000 went to historic preservation.

What’s next

The CNA will now request a 2:1 match from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, the guardians of the property. If DCR provides this there will be enough money to hire an architectural firm to study the Powder House and write a report about how best to preserve, repair, interpret and reuse the structure; and money to hire the North Bennet Street School Preservation Carpentry program to repair and reslate the roof. Work would begin on this now derelict 1818 granite structure as early as the spring of 2012.

“The CNA is working towards the revitalization of Magazine Beach, Cambridge’s second largest park: fifteen green acres along the Charles River,” said CNA President Bill August in a press release.

For further information and to be put on the list for Powder House and Magazine Beach updates, contact Cathie Zusy at cathzusy@gmail.com.