Pusey, MTA Officials Boost Hopes For Purchase of Bennett St. Yards

Statements last week by both MTA and Harvard officials indicated that the chances for a sale of the MTA's Bennett St. Yards to the University have reached a new high.

First Thomas J. McLernon, general manager of the MTA, told Cambridge politicians that he planned to recommend to the trustees of the Authority that the property be sold. Then President Pusey repeated Harvard's offer to buy the land at "its current fair market value plus an additional $1 million."

Sale of the land would clear the way for construction of a tenth House across Boylston St. from Eliot House.

L. Gard Wiggins, administrative vice-president of the University, pointed out last week that the MTA had been evenly divided over the question of selling the land for several years, and that he hoped a strong stand by McLernon might swing the balance.

Another factor which will influence the trustees toward accepting Pusey's offer is a recently completed engineering study which definitely confirms the possibility of replacing the MTA repair facilities at Bennett St. with facilities at other sites.

In the past, politicians have argued that land should be kept from the University for both the general reason that Harvard should not dominate Cambridge and the specific reason that land owned by the University does not yield any tax revenue.

But the sale of this particular tract to Harvard would have the opposite effect on revenue, Pusey pointed out in his statement, because as MTA property it is now completely tax-exempt; however, if the land were sold, some of it would be put to taxable use.

Since 1953 there have been at least two bills entered in the state legislature every year which would have blocked the sale, even if both the MTA and Harvard wished to transfer the land. This year, however, no such bills have been recorded.