Zone Conflict Might Delay Brattle Motel

Possible conflicts with Cambridge zoning restrictions may seriously delay construction of a new motel in Brattle Square. And it may never reach its proposed height of 23 stories.

The Beacon Construction Company reportedly paid a premium price of $34 a square foot for the land. Its tentative design calls for 2 5 units on 23 stories. That would make it the tallest building in Cambridge.

The land for the motel is zoned with a floor-area ratio (FAR) of four, allowing four square feet of floor area for every square foot of land.

The conflict arises over whether street space in front of the property in irregularly shaped Brattle Square can be counted as part of the building's land area.

Zoning statutes allow this "bonus" to buildings facing large open areas as the motel would. They do not specify how much additional land may be counted, however.

Also, some "necessary" parts of a building, such as the furnace, are not counted in the base property. One point of dispute is whether the motel's cocktail bar qualifies under this provision. City officials claim the bar is part of the motel's operation and not "necessary."

Representatives of the Beacon Construction Company, owners of the property, and of William E. Tabler '36, the architect, claim there is enough space in front to allow a building as large as they propose.

Raymond Giedraicis, of Tabler's office, said yesterday that the City agreed with the Beacon Company's interpretation. He claimed that Cambridge was cooperating with them on a test case in land court to make that interpretation official.

However, a Cambridge official said yesterday that he doubts the City completely supports the Beacon Interpretation. The company may be misreading another official's tentative opinion not shared by the entire Planning Board, he said.

The Beacon company had said in February that construction would probably begin by the end of the year. Yesterday, Robert Beal '63 of the company, said this was still a possibility if the zoning problem was resolved. He added, however, that the company has directed most of its attention to other projects.