Judge Denies A Jury Trial In Land Suit

The Middlesex Superior Court has denied a jury trial to a group being sued by the University.

The jury trial had been requested by the owners of an apartment building on the edge of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library. Harvard went to court late last year to compel the owners to sell to the University under a ten-year old option agreement.

High Administration officials felt that the move for a jury trial was an attempt to play upon anti-Harvard sentiment. 'They want to work on the emotions of people and get them all charged up against the University," one Harvard official remarked when the owners' original motion was filed.

Judge Harry Kalus ruled Thursday against the request and set April 11 as the date for a trial before a single judge.

Harvard wants the building, which is located on the corner of Mt. Auburn St. and University Rd., to be included in the development of the Bennett St. M.B.T.A. yards, the site of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library.

Ten-Year Option

Under the original option agreement, signed in 1956, the University received the right to buy the apartment any time during a ten-year period for $250,000 plus small additional amounts for improvements made on the building.

Last December, after notifying the owners that it wanted to buy, Harvard showed up at the Middlesex Country Registry with enough money to complete the sale. Representatives of the owners -- the University Road Real Estate Trust -- did not. Harvard then went to court.

The owners are claiming that the option agreement was not valid because its terms were altered at the last moment and the owners were not informed of the changes.

Meanwhile this week, Jessie Gill, who lives in the basement of the dispute building, informally announced her candidacy for the Cambridge City Council. Miss Gill has attacked Harvard's attempt to buy the apartment and condemned the University's real estate practices.

This week she distributed a statement announcing her candidacy to reporters at the regular meeting of the Council. Her chances of being elected are not considered good.