Food trucks are hot. Multifamily developments are hot. So multifamily landlords in Cambridge's Kendall Square--a Boston submarket home to MIT and one of the worlds hottest research clusters--are mixing them. Twining Properties CEO Alex Twining, who developed the 321-apartment Watermark Kendall West and last week opened the 144-unitWatermark Kendall East--tells us landlords will host the city's first food truck festival June 8. The goal: generate buzz and introduce people to the waterfront landing at Broad Canal. (And also introduce people to some pretty great tacos.) Alex points out that it might boost leasing when grazing foodies realize, "I could live here." (Eating and thinking? We're not good at multitasking.)

The area is already doing well: Watermark Kendall West is 98% leased and Watermark Kendall East, which Twining is developing with Principal, pre-leased 50 apartments. Rent for a 1,000 SF, two-bedroom unit is about $3,800/month. The landlords built the open space around the landing as a magnet for activity; the festival will give chefs an opportunity to test recipes and locations for permanent new eateries, Alex says. (We're tremendous testers.) Other multifamily projects in Twining's pipeline includeWatermark Seaport Square,a 346-apartment building in Boston with Skanska; and a mixed-use complex with Normandy RE Partners in Central Square, Cambridge.