Stores, Atrium Planned For Woolworth's Site

Construction of a new building complex containing four or five retail stores, two restaurants, expanded office space and an indoor atrium on Brattle Street will begin by March 1, Louis F. DiGiovanni, developer of the project, said yesterday.

To be completed by the end of the year, the center will extend from Brattle Street to Church Street, encompassing the area now occupied by F.W. Woolworth's the Zum Zum Restaurant, the Chez Dreyfus Restaurant and a warehouse in the middle of the block.

Both DiGiovanni and Herald declined to release the names of the firms that plan to occupy the building, but employees at the Harvard Book Store said their textbook, used paperback and law book branches will relocate to the new complex.

DiGiovanni said the planned four story atrium would be "an oasis in Harvard Square," containing hanging plants and a tea room type restaurant.

All but one of the retail stores that will move into the new building will face Brattle Street and will feature a below ground level entrance and glass canopy overhanging the sidewalk, said James B. Herals, project manager for Sert, Jackson & Associates, the architectural firm that designed the complex.

Though the atrium is being built for use by employees in the 54,000 square feet of office space the project will create, the garden will be open to the public. Zum Zum and Chez Dreyfus have closed, and Woolworth's will shut down on January 17.

DiGiovanni, who owns the land on which the complex will be built, said Woolworth's had been renting the space at an unusually low price and asked "Goddammit, why should I be forced to, in effect, subsidize a billion dollar company?"

Businessmen in the area had mixed feelings about the proposed complex. Shirley Orkin, manager of the Jewel Box, hoped the new stores would bring new business to the area but added, "If it resembles a mall too much it will disrupt the character of Harvard Square."

DiGiovanni said, however, that the new stores will attract a clientele that storeowners would like to see and "will be an uplifting addition to the Square.