The Malling of Central Square

Part 4

by Jason Gay

Carl Barron, owner of the Putnam Furniture Leasing Company, works at 614 Massachusetts Avenue, smack dab in Central Square. His office is a sea of wood paneling upon which dozens of civic-leadership awards are plastered, and Barron's desk faces a bank of four closed-circuit televisions, so he can monitor his large furniture showroom.

Clearly, this is a man who likes to know what's up. And at 81 years old, Barron says he works six days a week and is up-to-date on the Holmes Realty Trust proposal, which he believes "has a great deal of potential to upgrade and beautify the city" -- not to mention significantly increase the value of his own property.

Barron thinks that Central Square is in the midst of a critical transformation from a place where people don't always feel safe into a first-class urban retail center. He says his colleagues on the Central Square Business Association are firmly behind this latest proposal to develop the downtown area.

Leaning back in his chair, Barron says he's just mystified about why anyone would want to block the demolition and redevelopment of this Central Square corner. Here's a landlord willing to risk $20 million of his own money to revitalize an area sorely in need of revitalization, and people are talking about blocking bulldozers?

"This [proposal] is taking a grim, dingy building and giving it a new face-lift," Barron says matter-of-factly.

Also troubled by the fierceness of the neighborhood activism is Robert Boulrice, the head of the Central Square Neighborhood Coalition. For four years, Boulrice and his group of local residents and businesspeople have undertaken a myriad of neighborhood-improvement projects in an attempt to make Central Square a more attractive place to live and work. Earlier this year, they gave their support to the Holmes Realty Trust's development proposal.

But last July, an insurgent group of residents dissatisfied with the Neighborhood Coalition's representation attended the organization's annual election meeting and succeeded in displacing Boulrice and his fellow officers. That election remains contested, so for several months, Central Square has had two active neighborhood coalitions carrying the same name. The situation remains so divisive that Boulrice refuses to discuss it. "We can't be bothered with that foolishness," he says.

Boulrice says he's always enjoyed Central Square's diverse atmosphere, and doesn't want to see that change. His support for the Trust's proposal, he says, is rooted in a desire to see the neighborhood continue to thrive.

"Central Square has always been a vital place," Boulrice says. "There's a wonderful energy on our sidewalks; we just want to make it work better."

Ken Reeves, a city councilor and former Cambridge mayor, is sympathetic to Boulrice's stance. He says that long-time community leaders like Boulrice have been stifled by critics "arriving at the 12th hour." Furthermore, many Central Square residents desire the shops and services a new development would bring, Reeves believes.

But Reeves warns that the city must be careful. "I don't think the Holmes Trust folks can put up 80 upper-income apartments and lead us to believe it's going to have no impact on Central Square," he says. "They have to be intelligent . . . and realize that feelings about the square run very deep."

Because of these deep feelings, Cambridge's mayor, Sheila Russell -- who hasn't officially endorsed any plan -- expects the Trust's development will face a protracted political battle.

"Like everything else in Cambridge, these things never get done easily," Russell says. "There are always a gazillion people involved, and this case is no exception. All I know is that there are going to be a lot of meetings, input, and blood, sweat, and tears before anything happens."

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