City, MIT Agree on Future of Shelter

Cambridge and MIT have settled the fate of the CASPAR Emergency Services Center and four city streets near the Institute's campus.

The city's negotiating committee agreed to sell Amherst street to MIT and lease Hayward, Carleton and Vassar Streets to the school. In return, MIT would construct a facility for the shelter, currently in temporary quarters, and lease it to the Cambridge and Somerville Program for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Rehabilitation for 40 years, Councillor Jonathan S. Myers said Monday.

"We have an agreement in principal at this time, but there is a set of issues that need to be addressed before we can bring this proposal before the council," Myers said at Monday's council meeting.

The site of the shelter's permanent home has been the focus of debate for months, with both MIT and Central Square citizens trying to avoid having the shelter nearby.

The easements granted to MIT in the lease are still to be determined. The school will negotiate rights, called easements, to do specific things to those streets.

But on Monday there was still confusion about what the easements would entail.

"An easement can be general or specific. We need to know the specifics," Mayor Kenneth E. Reeves '72 said.

One easement which was specifically considered was the requirement that MIT build a bridge or tunnel for the public on Vassar Street.

"I am very concerned that any agreement not make it impossible for public transportation to reach that area," Councillor Alice K. Wolf said.

Another concern raised at the City Council meeting is that MIT not be allowed to break its part of the bargain.

The proposal calls for a 20-year lease with the option to extend for another 20 years. The contract needs to be written, councillors said, so that the option to renew the lease lies legally with CASPAR.

"We want to insure that the building on Albany Street is renewable on CASPAR's option," Myers said. "And in the event of MIT not continuing lease, that the city could continue the lease or that MIT would offer the city financial remuneration."

Robert B. Boulrice, who represented the Central Square Neighborhood Coalition at the negotiations, said, "There are some very important matters yet to be resolved."

However, Boulrice was satisfied with the fairness of the agreement. "I am comfortable that a value-for-value agreement was accomplished," he said.

Councillor Sheila T. Russell said all parties involved would benefit from the agreement. "It looks to me like a win-win situation for CASPAR and the city and MIT," she said

Councillor Sheila T. Russell said all parties involved would benefit from the agreement. "It looks to me like a win-win situation for CASPAR and the city and MIT," she said