JFK Library Construction Faces Delay

I. M. Pei, the architect for the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library, said yesterday that completion of the project was at least four years away.

He thus confirmed unofficial reports in Cambridge earlier this year that the complex could not be finished until late 1971 or 1972. The first target date was 1970.

The major stumbling block to an early start, the architect said, was the inability of the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority to vacate the site for the Library--the M.B.T.A.'s 12 acre Bennett St. repair yards.

Speaking to a local group at the First Congregational Church, Pei estimated that land for building would not become available until 1969 and that at least another two years would be required to complete construction of the Library.

M.B.T.A. Delayed

The M.B.T.A. has anticipated abandoning the yards for many years but has been delayed in finding a replacement. Under a master plan, released last year, the agency would extend the Harvard Sq. line into North Cambridge and probably move the Bennett St. facilities to a new location in that part of the City.

The complex, as now envisioned, will include the Kennedy Library, which will house a museum and papers from the Kennedy Administration, the John F. Kennedy School of Government, which will include the Institute of Politics, and commercial facilities. The School of Government will belong to Harvard building and will centralize all of Harvard's facilities for the study of government, economics, and international affairs.

Raising money for this building--the cost has been estmated between $12 and $15 million--may also cause delay in completion. Some of the funds are already being sought in a campaign for a new Center for International Studies. This building was originally scheduled to be built next to Littauer Center, but will now be located in the new building on the Library site.