Cambridge lost out on a major $60-million development after investors raised concerns about the impact of homeless encampments in the city.

Speaking to the council Tuesday evening, Matthew Hilson, vice-president of Crillion Investment Corporation, said his company was “very close” to moving forward with a 300,000-square-foot, carbon-neutral project in Cambridge but pulled back.

“There are safer places to invest,” he said.

Hilson said his company owns more than one million square feet of commercial property in Cambridge but noted rising costs and disruptions are a constant challenge.

He described encampments as “unhealthy, unsafe and uneconomic.” Break-ins, theft and additional security costs tied to the encampments have totalled between $750,000 and $1 million over the past 15 to 18 mo

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