Faculty Housing Is Slated For Site of Library, Studio

Harvard's perpetual search for property to develop has led it to a former car dealership at 275 Concord Avenue, which is now home to the Radcliffe Pottery Studio and a branch of the Cambridge Public Library.

The building would be replaced by relatively inexpensive town houses for junior faculty, said Kathy Spiegelman, who has represented Harvard's planning council and its Office of Community Affairs in discussions of the proposal.

The University recently purchased the one-acre plot from Radcliffe. Any opposition to the project may emerge tonight at a community meeting on the subject at the Peabody School on Linnaean St., Spiegelman said.

Radcliffe sold the property to Harvard "under the condition that Harvard find an acceptable alternative site" for the pottery studio, said Selvage. Although no new site has yet been chosen, the University will relocate the pottery studio within the next few weeks, according to Director of the Ceramics Program Nancy C. Selvage. She said the new studio probably will be "near the Square for easy accessibility for students."

"It's just a terrible building," said Joseph Sakey, director of the Cambridge Public Library, who added that the structure is decaying and deserves to be torn down. He described Harvard's representatives as "responsive" to his preference that a new, larger library be built as part of the project, but said he had not received any formal guarantee.

Cathy Dooley, the children's librarian, said frequent patrons include area children and senior citizens, as well as Harvard students and faculty.

The branch library, which now shares this single-story structure with the pottery studio and a warehouse for dormitory furniture, now has only about 1600 square feet of space. Sakey said he hoped for an increase to 2500 square feet.

Selvage said she plans to tour possible sites for the studio next week, assisted by Harvard Real Estate. She said she understood that Harvard would want to use the property for housing, because it is zoned for either residential or commercial use, while the studio could find a home in a commercial zoned area.

About half of the 130 people registered for the ceramics program are students or employees of the University, Selvage said.