The Malling of Central Square

The Boston Phoenix
October 2 - 9, 1997

[Central Square]

The Malling of Central Square

A city landlord has proposed a massive, seven-story $20 million retail/apartment complex in the heart of Central Square. At stake is not just the fate of a neighborhood, but Cambridge's future.

by Jason Gay

A few weeks, on the last Sunday of summer, Central Square was hopping, and the Bible Tones were working up a sweat. It was the Central Square World's Fair, a daylong street celebration in Cambridge's most diverse neighborhood, and the Tones -- an eight-man gospel group decked in fire-engine-red suits -- were entertaining a large crowd on a brick plaza at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Magazine Street. It was an exuberant scene. As the afternoon sun began to dip below the steeple of the nearby First Baptist Church, the Bible Tones sang, spun, and praised the Lord with such ferocious conviction that members of the audience started wiping their brows.

It was a good place for some gospel music. Directly behind the Bible Tones' stage was a stretch of small businesses -- including an Ethiopian restaurant, a Greek market, a newsstand, a haberdashery, a women's clothing store, and a left-wing bookstore -- that could use a little divine intervention. The landlord, the Holmes Realty Trust, wants to demolish this corner and replace it with a two-building, seven-story, $20 million complex with two floors of retail space and 90 apartment units. Though some current tenants will be saved, rumored successors include the Gap and a Barnes & Noble-type bookstore.

The Holmes Realty Trust's property is a prominent "gateway" location in Central Square, and businesses leaders are anxious to see the project succeed when city planning and zoning boards review it later this year. Supporters of the proposed development think it will bring a much-needed economic boost to a beleaguered retail district. "This [project] will bring in a lot of people to the area," says long-time local businessman Carl Barron, whose property abuts the proposed development. "For a long time, Central Square has meant fear, dirt, and crime."

But a legion of critics disagree. A protest group of residents and customers, called Save Central Square, intends to block the Holmes Realty Trust development. They believe that Central Square is one of the last great city neighborhoods, an offbeat community offering something to everyone regardless of age, race, or economic fortune. To them, the square means tailors and furniture salesmen sharing the same avenue with discount record sellers and nightclub owners. It isn't spit-polished; it doesn't look like every place else. That's why demolishing this corner of businesses -- and building an oversized multimillion-dollar development -- is a bad idea, critics say. If this development happens, Central Square will look like every place else.

"They are going to kill the diversity and vibrancy that we have here and turn it into another shopping mall with luxury rental units," says David Hoicka, a Save Central Square leader. "This community is trying to tell them that we don't want to be obliterated like a neutron bomb."

The fight over Central Square comes at a time when concerns over Cambridge's future are mounting at an unprecedented rate. The loss of rent control in 1995, coupled with a thriving economy and skyrocketing markets for office and living space, has contributed to a rising feeling of unease among Cambridge's citizens. Low-income residents are leaving the city in droves, and now there is grave concern that new development throughout the city will hike rents beyond the reach of small-business owners -- eliminating providers of essential neighborhood goods and services in favor of higher-end stores and chains catering to the affluent.

The upcoming battle over Central Square has all the hallmarks of a classic gentrification fight. Amid the plans and protests are broader questions about what kind of development, if any, is appropriate for Cambridge. On what scale can this city continue to grow -- and how can the city physically improve itself without spoiling its traditional character and driving out more people? It's a discussion that involves Central Square's heart and Cambridge's soul. Such stakes are very high, and you don't need religion, much less a gospel band like the Bible Tones, to figure that out.

On to part 2

Jason Gay can be reached at jgay[a]phx.com.

The Plan

The Holmes Realty Trust wants to demolish its building -- in the heart of Cambridge's Central Square -- which contains a number of small retail stores and restaurants, and replace it with a two-building, seven-story, $20 million complex with shopping space and 90 apartment units. The Trust hopes to get the plan approved this fall and begin construction by the end of the winter.

Proponents say the development will provide an attractive gateway to a new, improved Central Square, and lure more shoppers and residents to the downtown area. The proposal enjoys the support of numerous business leaders and many residents who want the city's planning and zoning boards to approve the project in the coming months.

But critics, including a group of residents and customers called Save Central Square, are leading a charge to stop the project. They think the Trust's proposal is too upscale and threatens to destroy the diverse, funky charm of the square, which is home to dozens of small businesses, restaurants, and nightclubs appealing to people of varying backgrounds and income brackets.