Cambridge, Ma – Cambridge City Council voted to approve MIT’s petition to transform 26 acres of property it owns around Kendall Square. The vote caps a three-year process by which MIT sought alignment, both within the Institute and between the Institute and Cambridge, on the question of how best to bring greater vibrancy to Kendall Square through new housing, retail, lab, commercial and open space.
MIT began its efforts to consider new possibilities for its Kendall Square property in 2010, with broad discussions within the MIT and Cambridge communities. MIT filed its first rezoning petition in April 2011, but allowed that petition to lapse later that year because it determined that it would be beneficial to gain further input from a wide range of people and groups before proceeding.
The revised petition, filed in December 2012, included significant changes resulting from the input of a faculty task force charged by Provost Chris Kaiser to examine MIT’s proposal, as well as from an urban-planning study conducted by the city. Changes included a significant increase in the proposed amount of new housing; a plan for conceiving a new “gateway” between MIT’s east campus and the city; and the inclusion of a “community living room,” for public cultural and educational programming, as part of the proposal.
Most new construction will take place on underused MIT-owned parking lots, and an important goal will be to enliven the area and better connect the campus to the neighborhood and business district in five ways:
- Transform Main Street to include new pedestrian-oriented retail, restaurants and entertainment;
- Create a new gateway area around the Kendall Square MBTA station to promote interaction between the square and the MIT campus;
- Strengthen the connection between the square and the Charles River by working with others to improve Point Park, enliven Wadsworth Street, and draw people to a safe, signaled crossing toward the river;
- Create an outdoor extension of MIT’s Infinite Corridor by linking MIT’s Medical Center with the MIT Sloan School with space that sees programmed activities and features MIT attractions;
- Enhance Broad Canal Way to create a residential and innovation community with a two-sided retail street and more-engaging public space.