Developer Threatens to Build Before City Designs Square

A Cambridge developer last week threatened that if plans from the City for the Harvard Square area were not made soon he would go ahead with construction of a Holiday Inn on land adjoining the 11-acre John F. Kennedy Library Center site.

Long range plans for the Square are necessary because the planned library is expected to draw a million visitors a year. Cambridge city planners are attempting to coordinate the surge of development in the area which is already starting in anticipation of the onrush of tourists.

Although Harold Kanavos, president of the Cambridge Plaza Trust, agreed that there were long-term advantages to delaying construction of his projected hotel, he said that he was under economic pressure to start soon. He already has his permit and his building plans conform to Cambridge's building and zoning codes.

However, the Cambridge Planning Board objects to the 18-story building, according to Robert A. Bowyer, director of Planning and Design for the City, on the basis of "location, height, and scale."

Planners would like to see the hotel be accessible by a service road instead of Mt. Auburn St. as currently planned. Although Bowyer predicts that basic agreements on the service road could be ready by fall, Kanavos wants to start now: "In order to wait that long I'm paying interest, it adds up to a lot of money."

Put a Strain

Bowyer agreed that lack of sufficient plans had put a financial strain on Kanavos. "He's been cooperative to date," Bowyer said. "We've got to try to accelerate construction of the road if we're going to ask Kanavos to relocate the building," he added.

Kanavos said that a delay on his part would require some form of remuneration. Bowyer, while emphasizing that no plans had yet been worked out, agreed that various forms of compensation were available, depending on the amount of changes that need to be made.

Both sides today expressed confidence in the possibilities for cooperation. Kanavos said, "I'm not one of these guys who says, 'Screw the city: screw the (Kennedy) project,' I want to cooperate, I just don't know how."