Mass. Ave. Adds TD Bank

The commercial space on the corner of Mass. Avenue and Plympton Street that was left vacant when Adidas closed its doors last December will soon be occupied by TD Bank.

Construction on the 2,400 square food space—which is owned by the A.D. Club—began in February. The new TD Bank branch plans to open its doors this summer.

The location will include a teller line, customer service representative stations, an ATM, and Penny Arcade, TD Bank’s free coin-counting machine. The next closest TD Bank location to Harvard Square is nearly three miles away, near Fresh Pond.

“We look forward to becoming a part of this community and providing Cambridge residents and merchants with the most convenient banking services in the area,” Lauren S. McClintock, a public relations specialist at TD Bank, wrote in an e-mail.

Denise Jillson, executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association, said she was puzzled but not surprised when she learned that Adidas would not be renewing its lease.

Jillson said the Adidas store had been an active member in the Harvard Square Business Association, participating in community events such as Sparklefest. However, she said the Association’s relationship with the store began to falter last fall as communication with the store’s managers dropped off.

TD Bank will join the league of banks already located in Harvard Square, which comprises Cambridge Savings Bank, Bank of America, Citibank, and Citizens Bank.

The explosion of bank branches in Harvard Square has not gone unnoticed by small business owners in the area.

“For Harvard Square, we don’t need to have a hundred banks,” said Christos Soillis, owner of Felix Shoe Repair on Mass. Avenue. “We need to have small businesses. But you can’t tell the banks not to come here. You do need one, two, or three ... but again, you can’t really do anything about it.”

—Staff writer Michelle B. Timmerman can be reached at mtimmerman@college.harvard.edu.