City Planning Board Opposes Harvard Bid for MTA Yards

The Cambridge Planning Board has decided it does not want Harvard to get the Bennett St. MTA yards, but the University may get them anyway.

In a report to the City Council, the Planning Board said that because of the high value of the Yards, their full potential would only be realized by using them for a city-directed redevelopment project. The report was submitted to the City Council last week, but it will not be discussed until Monday's meeting, Mayor Edward A. Crane '35 said.

The Planning Board suggests that the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority purchase the land from the MTA and develop it through controlled private contractors. The report calls the sale of the Yards "the most important development of the Twentieth Century for Cambridge." It added that the Yards are "a land bank to be drawn upon only for blue chip investments."

Despite the Planning Board's adamant position, it is considered unlikely that the City Council will take its advice on the sale of the Yards. Informal comment from Council members indicated that a majority of the body continues to favor Harvard's purchase of the land.

Furthermore, it is by no means certain that the Yards would qualify for federal redevelopment funds, as the Planning Board hopes. Said one city official, "The Yards are by no means a blighted area; it would stretch the imagination to have them qualify as a redevelopment authority project."

Offices and Entertainment

The Planning Board envisioned linking the MTA yards to the Harvard Square area to form a joint office area and entertainment center. The project would entail demolition of a two-block area, bounded by Boylston, Eliot, and Mount Auburn Streets.

The report also discusses major difficulties involved in the plans: a $350,000 traffic control plan for the entire city, parking for an estimated 7000 vehicles in the Yards area, and a reassessment of the MTA bus system.