Kennedy School Awaits Ruling On Construction

The University expects official confirmation next week of a request for a zoning variance in the construction of a building to house the Kennedy School of Government, a University official said yesterday.

Daniel C. Moulton, assistant vice president for government and community affairs, said the Cambridge zoning appeals board voted unanimously at a March 10 meeting to grant the request, contingent upon the receipt of additional information on parking facilities. Moulton said he will submit the information next week and expects official approval shortly.

Compliance with city parking ordinances has been a major concern of the zoning appeals board throughout the zoning hearings, Moulton said.

The University requested the variance to allow the building's construction in the MBTA car yards on Boylston St. without a 50-foot gap between the building edge and the property boundary. Otherwise, the building would interfere with MBTA operations and a Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) sewer line that cuts through the proposed site, Moulton said.

Ira A. Jackson '70, assistant dean of the Kennedy School, said yesterday he expects construction to begin late this spring, with completion in September, 1978.

"The University has never created a building in such a tight time frame," Jackson said. The building is scheduled for rapid completion because the school has overgrown its facilities and hopes to double student enrollment and faculty size within the next five to seven years, he said.

Jackson said he expects the new building to accommodate all projected expansion through the mid-1980s.

"At that time the University will have to stop and reassess its expansion," he added.