Some Shops May Stay

Some private retailers may remain in the Holyoke Center arcade after its reorganization this summer, Harvard Planning and Real Estate (HPRE) officials said yesterday.

Scott Levitan, director of university and commercial properties for HPRE, wrote in an e-mail message yesterday that, along with University-related services, the arcade will feature "public and commercial tenants which provide goods which complement these services."

Levitan said the two retail stores in the arcade, Artsmart and Selletto, may be among the commercial tenants next year--if HPRE decides they are compatible with what it sees as the arcade's new purpose.

However, Artsmart owner Dror Ashuah said he does not expect to remain after his lease expires next October.

"We're probably going to close," he said yesterday.

Ashuah, who owns three other stores in the Boston area, said that his business will be less affected by the loss of his Cambridge shop than the kiosk owners.

"It's not as devastating for us," he said.

At a Tuesday meeting with the Committee to Save The Shops by Harvard Yard, Levitan reaffirmed HPRE's decision not to renew the leases of the kiosk vendors.