Sullivan to Build 'Motel on Stilts' Over Brattle Lot

A 52-unit motel will be built on the Brattle Sq. parking lot, adjacent to the MTA yards. John Briston Sullivan and William J. Chase, founders of The New England Motel, Inc., paid the City of Cambridge $30,736 for the 17,500 square foot tract on Dec. 26.

The $500,000 "building on stilts" actually will straddle the Brattle lot, allowing "a reasonable amount of space in the lot below to be used for public parking between the hours of 6 p.m. to 8 a.m.

Mezzanine Parking

Furthermore, the motel will have parking space for 30 cars on its mezzanine floor, with access by a ramp. John J. Curry '19, City Manager, explained that this move was made "in the interest of good public relations and good will." Loss of public parking was the primary objection to the motel when it was proposed last May.

Terms of the sale state that construction must start within eight months and be completed 12 months after the beginning of work. The city will receive $600 monthly during the building period to replace its usual parking meter returns.

It is understood that the University favored the motel land as the site of a proposed Cambridge-Harvard parking facility.