Business Owners Draft Construction Plan To Model Harvard Square on Times Square

The Harvard Square Business Association has drafted a plan that proposes replacing Harvard Square’s iconic Out of Town News kiosk with an interactive information center and adding stadium seating and an approximately 23-foot-wide LED screen to the Pit.

The preliminary plan provided to The Crimson, designed by Ann Krsul Architecture and funded by the HSBA, was drafted by a committee of stakeholders including representatives of the Coop, Cambridge Savings Bank, Harvard University, and other businesses in the HSBA, according to John P. DiGiovanni, the president of the HSBA.

The planning committee has met recently with many elected and unelected Cambridge officials to discuss and review the plans.

Mayor Henrietta J. Davis said the plans will be vetted by community members and city leaders before moving forward, and City Manager Robert W. Healy cautioned that funding for the renovation has not been solicited or allocated yet.

“There are some things I liked about it, some things I didn’t like,” Davis said. “It’s very good that the businesses got out there and did some work. Sometimes you have to propose an option before people really decide to do something.”

21ST-CENTURY IMPROVEMENT

The discussion of the plans follows the completion of the third phase of an ongoing city improvement project that has brought repaved streets and new sidewalks to several parts of Harvard Square since it began in 2006.

Sheldon Cohen Island, the central gateway to Harvard Square that is home to the Pit and the Out of Town News kiosk, has been left untouched since the MBTA rerouted the Red Line 20 years ago. Now it will see construction next year when the MBTA renovates the elevator located there to meet court-mandated accessibility standards.

“As the rest of the area around the plaza really began to be upgraded and look nice, the plaza really became clear it needed some more attention,” DiGiovanni said.

DiGiovanni, who leases properties on Church Street, in the Garage retail complex on JFK Street, and in other parts of the Square, has been a leader in the beautification projects in the Square since the publication in 1998 of a document published by the HSBA called “Polishing the Trophy,” which suggested improvements to the streets, sidewalks, and lighting in Cambridge’s preeminent tourism hub.

He likened today’s 15-page document outlining the new vision for Sheldon Cohen Island to the landmark publication of 14 years ago, which eventually led to major construction projects.

“Just as ‘Polishing the Trophy’ started, we thought, ‘Let’s do something that can begin the discussion,’” DiGiovanni said. “Some images and renderings can help stimulate some creativity and hopefully some collaboration.”

The new plan would model the busy heart of Harvard Square on the look and feel of New York City’s Times Square, DiGiovanni said.

The document says, “The primary goal of this plan is to continue to use this world-recognized and beloved urban space as a meeting place while enhancing its communal features and uses.”

Artistic renderings in the proposal depict a new “Red Line Theater”: stadium seating looking down on the Pit and the double-sided LED screen standing behind the seating overlooking the entrance to the T station.

The five-foot-tall screen would project news, show videos of past and present activity in the Square, and broadcast special events like Harvard’s Commencement, DiGiovanni said. Other additions include tables and chairs, greenery, and bicycle racks.

City Manager Robert W. Healy said that it might be time for a refresher for the area but expressed hesitation about the ambitious plan’s cost.

“That’s a focal point of Harvard Square that needs some sprucing up,” he said. “I think it’s a nice project. My worry is, how do we finance it?”

Funds have not been allocated for refurbishing Sheldon Cohen Island in the current five-year capital planning, but Healy said he was interested in fine-tuning the design and exploring public-private partnerships to enable it.

TRANSFORMING THE PIT

Sheldon Cohen, a legendary presence who has been called the unofficial mayor of Harvard Square, sold the newsstand on the brick island that now bears his name to Hudson News in 1994 after 39 years manning the kiosk.

Hudson News decided not to renew its lease in 2008, but the stand found a new owner, Muckey’s Corp. When that company’s lease ends in 2013, the city could tear down the kiosk to make room for the new interactive glass-walled building depicted in the plan.

“The kiosk is really an icon of the Square. It’s a natural meeting place, and we all feel that there should be something that reflects that,” said Jeremiah P. Murphy ’73, president of the Coop and vice president of the HSBA.

The stand has long struggled to survive despite the decline of print media sales. Murphy said that converting the kiosk to an interactive information area with a wraparound news ticker would better serve the modern-day public.

As the main entrance to the MBTA station, Sheldon Cohen Island serves as a crossroads for tourists, students, and residents alike.

“It can create a cloud of social interactions,” said Laura E. Donohue ’85, the owner of Bob Slate Stationer on Brattle Street.

DiGiovanni said that he expects Harvard will be a partner in funding and envisioning any renovations, as it has been in the last 15 years of planning and construction spurred by “Polishing the Trophy.”

“Harvard is one of many stakeholders working together to maintain and enhance the unique character of Harvard Square,” Christine M. Heenan, Harvard’s vice president for public affairs and communications, wrote in an email. “Harvard looks forward to a being part of a very healthy partnership with city government, local residents, and the Harvard Square Business Association that care about Harvard Square.”

—Maya S. Jonas-Silver contributed to the reporting of this story.

—Staff writer Kerry M. Flynn can be reached at kflynn@college.harvard.edu.