Join us this Thursday evening, February 16, at 6 p.m. at Cambridge City Hall for CHC Public Hearing!

We are sorry for taking so long in getting back in touch with you, our over 1300 Kiosk Landmark Petition signers and supporters! We've been very busy (if you've been reading any of the Boston or Cambridge newspapers, magazines or online publications [such as the very good CambridgeDay.com]) with the ongoing battles in Harvard Square related to the fight to preserve the Kiosk and the Square. We won a victory at the Cambridge Historical Commission (CHC) when they agreed to initiate the Landmark Designation Study for which we -- and you -- had petitioned. The City Manager will soon name a "Kiosk Working Group" (based on recommendations from CDD staff) which will spend six months meeting to review future plans for the Kiosk. (Stay tuned!) [You can reach us directly at: tompaine@hotmail.com] In the meantime, please read the following, and join us Thursday night at City Hall at this unprecedented Public Hearing devoted exclusively to developers' plans for the so-called Curious George Building (Abbot Building & Urban Outfitters Building, et al.) in the heart of Harvard Square. SEE YOU THERE! (For OHSQ: James Williamson) Cambridge Historical Commission Public Hearing 6 p.m, Thursday, February 16, Sullivan Chamber of Cambridge City Hall Here's your chance to state your opinion on a major three-building development that would merge the iconic Abbot Building (currently housing the 'Curious George' store) at the corner of JFK and Brattle Streets and the two adjoining buildings currently housing Urban Outfitters and Tess into a single structure. Because of the magnitude of the project and the magnitude of public interest shown in its previous hearings, the Cambridge Historical Commission has scheduled the next public hearing at 6 p.m. Thursday, February 16, in the Sullivan Chamber of Cambridge City Hall rather than its usual site in the Senior Center, and will devote this hearing  to Equity One's latest version of its proposal.  Equity One, Inc., a national real estate development corporation headquartered in North Miami Beach, Florida, has acquired the Abbot Building and the two adjoining buildings for approximately $85 million. They are going through the City of Cambridge permitting procedure to seek approval of their development plan for these structures. The first step in the approval process is at the Cambridge Historical Commission, defined on its website as "the city's historic preservation agency...established in 1963 to preserve the integrity and diversity of Cambridge's built environment, protect designated properties throughout the city and preserve the integrity of Cambridge's many significant buildings." Equity One's current plan calls for: Demolishing and replacing the building currently housing Urban Outfitters; Raising the height of the two currently lower buildings to the height of the Abbot Building; Gutting and re-aligning all three floors of all three interiors into a single structure called "The Collection at Harvard Square."   Equity One also seeks approval to add an approximately 9,000-square-foot pavilion complex on top of the combined buildings to be used as a "celebrity chef" rooftop restaurant with a seating capacity of approximately 180. 
 Main access to the proposed complex would be through what is now the front door of the Curious George store in the Abbot Building, into an approximately 900-square-foot lobby providing elevator and escalator access up to a second story extending the full length of the three buildings. The developers' proposed decoration of the facades of the two currently smaller buildings will be designed to suggest their historically separate identities. Construction is estimated to take over two years, and will require displacement of all approximately 24 present occupants. 
Community concerns have focused initially on preserving as much as possible of the unique historic character of the Abbot Building. The second major community concern is proposed construction of the 9,000-square-foot restaurant pavilion spanning the entire rooftop of the three buildings. The developer has reshaped it from earlier drawings to make it somewhat less conspicuous from the street, but many opponents still find it massive, out of character with the historic site and an unnecessary add-on in a neighborhood already rich in excellent restaurants. To view the current version of the plan, featuring many before-and-after photos and light/shade studies, go to the Historical Commission's website at:     http://www.cambridgema.gov/~/media/Files/historicalcommission/pdf/casefiles/case3678_plans3.pdf?la=en