With More Growth Ahead, City Fights To Preserve History, Tranquility

The face of Cambridge business is constantly changing, and the year ahead will be no exception. With several major development projects in the works, the start of the new millennium looks to continue Cambridge's growth trend.

East Cambridge is currently the center of much of the attention surrounding business development and growth. Last week, the City Council approved the Larkin petition, putting an 18-month moratorium on development in East Cambridge.

Resident Shannon Larkin created the petition to slow down the development that has occurred in areas like Kendall Square. Residents feel that the current business boom needs to be planned so that congestion and over-development does not become an uncontrollable problem.

The petition, however, does not put an end to all development in the area. Four amendments were attached to the petition, allowing for the continuation of several development projects that are already under way or soon to begin.

A Southern Energy project site in Kendall Square and a proposed office building on Third Street are exempt from the moratorium. In addition, two proposed telecommunications projects will also be allowed to move forward.

Closer to campus, Harvard Square will also be undergoing significant changes within the next year.

One of the most visible business developments in the Square over the next several months will be the renovation of the Harvard Cooperative Society-owned building on the corner of Mass. Ave. and Bow Street.

The renovations could result in the replacement of the Bow And Arrow Pub and Dunkin' Donuts, both popular, longtime Square locales.

Jeremiah P. Murphy '73, president of the Coop, said construction is set to begin on the building within the next one or two months, and new tenants should be able to move in by late fall.

Both the Bow and Arrow and Dunkin' Donuts will be forced to close during renovations and will likely have to pay higher rents if they wish to return in the fall.

Neither business has definite plans for the future.

Murphy said the Coop has inaugurated a wide search for potential tenants.

"There are no preconceived notions for what we wanted--we just wanted to see what's out there," he says.

Murphy said the renovated building will likely include a combination of office and retail space.

He emphasized that to be successful, tenants must fit into the overall neighborhood of the Square.

"If it doesn't make sense for the neighborhood, then the business won't be successful and the building won't be successful," he says.

Harvard Square Defense Fund President Pebble Gifford says sees the closing of the two locations as emblematic of the problems of economic development driving out lower scale businesses.

"It's the story of the whole Square," Gifford says. "Not many small business owners can't afford to own the buildings they are in...Unfortunately, that's the way the free market works." ??????

The constant development and gentrification in the Square led the City Council to open the possibility of creating an historic district for Harvard Square.

After four years of planning and discussions, the Harvard Square Historic District Study Committee decided that the creation of an historic district along with strengthening of the existing zoning overlay district would be the best option for preserving the character of the Square.

"There would be more restrictions on development and a finer level of control over detail in the Square," says Charles M. Sullivan, executive director of the Cambridge Historical Commission.

"It would give some control over the physical fabric of the Square," Gifford says. "There will have to be more sensitivity to things like the scale of buildings, lighting and density."

The committee presented its report for consideration to the City Council in November 1999. No action has been taken yet on the proposal, but the Council will most likely begin discussions this spring.

"It's not over yet," Gifford says.