The Changing Square:

Representatives of a local development company recently altered their plans for a four-story office and retail complex on Mass Ave after community groups complained that the building would clash with the older structures in Harvard Square.

Meeting last week with the Cambridge Community Development Department and neighborhood activists, the Niles Company, which leases and manages the block between Plympton and Linden Streets, agreed to "modify the [planned] facade to make it more closely blend with surrounding architectural features," said Shepard Brown, senior vice president of the company.

The demolition of the block's existing buildings and reconstruction of the complex is scheduled to begin next March and continue for 18 months.

The changes will primarily embellish the facade rather than modify the structure, John McKee, the architect for the project, said. The building will be brick with a granite base and limestone corners and sills over the windows, he added.

Traffic

The company has also agreed to load and unload construction materials from an alley off Linden Street, to avoid disrupting traffic on Mass, Ave., Brown said.

But Gladys P. Gifford, president of the Harvard Square Defense Fund, said that although Niles has been "somewhat conscientious and helpful" in modifying their design, "there still hasn't been a full meeting of minds."

Gifford explained that she and other community leaders would prefer to preserve the original facade rather than replace it with a completely new front, but Niles has dismissed this option as too expensive.

Brown and McKee refused to disclose the estimated cost of the development, but said that bids have not yet gone out for construction, and marketing for office space in the complex will not begin until the summer of 1984.

To Move or Not to Move

Meanwhile, owners of the stores on Mass. Ave. are trying to decide how best to deal with the upcoming development. All the shops on the block will have to close during construction, and some owners say they will not be able to afford to return to the new complex at three times their present rent.

The Pangloss Bookstore has already signed a lease to relocate on Mt. Auburn St., and Schoenhof's, the foreign language book store, is currently looking for alternative space.

"If we find something good enough, we're inclined to say there permanently," said Patsy Baudoin, assistant manager of Schoenhof's. "The costs of moving back would be too high to handle," she added.

Owners of Bob Slate Stationers and One Potato Two Potato Restaurant said last week they plan to return to their present locations after construction is completed.

"The development will be to our advantage," said John Charprales, co-owner of One Potato Two Potato. "Our business will be better when we reopen," he added.