Experts Expect Court Fight Between Cambridge, MTA

Any attempt by the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority to obtain the Bennett St. MTA Yards by the right of eminent domain may develop into a major court battle, legal experts told the CRIMSON yesterday.

On Monday, City Councillor Daniel J. Hayes urged that Cambridge declare the Bennett St. Yards an Open Blighted Area and take possession of the property "for development or sale for tax purposes," but there is serious doubt whether the City can legally force the MTA to sell the land at its fair market value.

Lawyers pointed out that the City and its Redevelopment Authority must obtain the right to exercise the power of eminent domain from the Commonwaltth of Massachusetts. They stressed that the MTA, as a special agency of the state, also obtains its power from the Commonwealth.

University Offer

The University has offered to buy the Yards for $1 million more than their fair market value, and thus if Cambridge declares the land an Open Blighted Area and attempts to force the MTA to sell at the fair market value, the courts will have to decide if the City has any legal authority over the MTA.

If the courts decide in favor of the MTA, MTA officials have indicated that in order to protect itself the MTA must put the land up for sale and then sell it to the highest bidder. Harvard, with an offer of $1 million above the fair market value, would clearly have an advantage over the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority.

No Statement

The University was still studying the implications of Hayes' bill yesterday and would make no formal statement. But spokesmen indicated that the plan to divide the property half for educational and half for commercial purposes, a plan that Hayes said "does not offer enough tax potential to the city," was originally recommended by John J. Curry, the City Manager.

In his speech to the City Council on Monday, Hayes also urged that Cambridge follow the same procedure used by Boston in the new Prudential Center project, but redevelopment experts asserted yesterday that under this plan, Harvard (or some other developer) must first buy the Bennett St. property from the MTA.

The Prudential Insurance Co. had already started to develop the land when, at Prudential's own request, the site was declared an Open Blighted Area by the Boston Redevelopment Authority.