Citizens Decry Kendall Square Redevelopment

Residents of the East Cambridge and Central Square neighborhoods jammed the City Council chambers last night to protest a controversial redevelopment plan for the Kendall Square area.

The hearing was the first in a number of meetings devoted to the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority's (CRA) plan to bring a motel, a retail shopping complex, one million square feet of office space, 400 middle and upper income apartments and town houses and a 2000-car garage to a site known as the Golden Triangle.

Industrial Development

An adjacent plot of land called the Quadrangle would be reserved for industrial development under the Authority's revised plan. The CRA's original proposal recommended developing the Quadrangle along the same lines as the Triangle.

Robert Rowland, director of the CRA, said last night that the CRA would make a "concerted effort" to find industrial uses for the Kendall Square site, but that market forces might mitigate the possibility of finding blue-collar employers.

People Are Zonked

A representative of Hard Times, JoAnn Allen, said that she did not trust the CRA to look for blue-collar jobs. "Don't split the Quadrangle and Triangle--they're one area," she said. "Before you know it, they'll be back to the original plan and the people are zonked."

Other critics claimed that the city would not realize increased tax revenue from the projects for 15 years.