Porter Square Neighbors Association

DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL FOR 1868 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE
Peter Wasserman presented a proposal for a mixed-use development on the lot, which is currently occupied by Gourmet Express. This project can be built as of right, but a special permit is probably required for the the proposed parking solution.

The project is five floors and the building is 55 feet high. The ground floor has 4 small retail units, and the remaining floors include 27-28 condos of 600-800 sq. ft. The building would be placed along Mass Ave, closing up the curb cut there, and all vehicle traffic would enter and exit on Upland Road. The curb cut on Upland is currently at the very back of the lot; it would move about 20 feet closer to Mass Ave.

The project includes 14 bike spaces and requires 43 parking spaces: 28 for the new project, and 15 to satisfy an easement that Lesley has. Twelve spaces would be at grade; the other 31 spaces would be accommodated in a series of car stacking units. This mechanism is powered by electric motors, not the hydraulic lift of the Pemberton project collapsed a year or so ago. The claim is that it makes much less noise when in operation.

How does it work? As best I can describe it, these units are a combination of a vending machine and one of those puzzles with 15 tiles and 16 spaces. The entire unit is behind about 10 regular garage doors, but there is one car below grade, one at grade, and one above that. Each tenant has an assigned slot, behind an assigned door. To park, the tenant clicks a device in a keyring; the correct door opens when the assigned slot is at grade. Thus, the "garage" muffles the sound of the motors. This system is manufactured by Harding Steel, and one 3-car unit is installed at 347 Commonwealth Avenue.

The end of the building that would face south would be a blank wall because Mr.Wasserman expects Lesley will build something right next to it at some point, and sees no need to spend money on finishing materials that will be covered up. We suggested putting a mural on that space in the meantime, and he agreed to work with us and the arts council when the time comes.

At the meeting, Mr. Wasserman said that he expected to begin construction within 6 to 12 months. Conversations with the guy who runs Gourmet Express suggest that this time line has changed. The tenant was supposed to be out by the end of June, but that is no longer the case. Current market conditions and the mortgage meltdown may have something to do with this.

SUPPORT FOR HOTEL KAYA
We discussed the degree of support for the hotel for the purpose of writing a letter for the BZA hearing scheduled for January 24 and then postponed to February 28.

PSNA election results

It was a landslide.

President, Susan Hunziker
Vice President, John Howard
Secretary, Margaret Studier
Treasurer, Mary O'Neill

Update from the shopping center
Maria Hanlon and Dan Giordano from Gravestar summarized some changes that you've probably noticed over the last year or so laid out plans for 2008. These projects have been completed over the last year:

a. Replaced the entrance & exit signs and the directional signs within the lot
b. Installed bollards along the sidewalks adjacent to the parking lot
c. Introduced tables and chairs near Emack & Bolio's, Qdoba, and Cafe Zing
d. Made several landscaping improvements, including planters for the new seating areas
e. Eliminated most of the comact spaces in the lot
f. Marked employee parking spaces clearly
g. Installed awnings along the Mass Ave side of CVS

For 2008, Gravestar will upgrade the kiosk in front of Tags. The clock on top that never worked will be replaced by one that does; the computer that worked for the first 48 hours after it was installed will be replaced with a bulletin board. (There's something to be said for low tech.) The kiosk will have three community bulletin boards available for posting and one locked display case. Also, the roof material will be replaced with glass, allowing more light in.

New lighting has been installed in the community art windows along Mass Ave and White St, and new displays will be mounted in January. Also, they now control the window that CVS never knew what to do with, and it will be used to display information about green initiatives and about the shopping center itself.

Other changes planned for next year require a variance to the sign ordiance: signs for Emack & Bolio's and Healthworks, improved window displays for CVS and Shaw's, and a "Porter Square" marker for portion of the CVS building that faces the T stop.

Variances from the signage ordinance are required for the Healthworks signs because they are on the second floor and for the Emack & Bolio's signs because it is a second sign. The plans for the windows in CVS and Shaw's could be considered temporary signs because they are inside under glass, Gravestar wants to include them in its variance request so as to have more control over them.

The rationale provided for the variance is as follows:
a. These changes and additions are part of the ongoing master plan for improving the look and utility of the property that Gravestar has been working on since completing the site renovation.
b. The "Porter Square" marker will strengthen the connection between the shopping center and the community (i.e., a prominent sign that indicates you are in Porter Square). This marker will be visible from the T stop and will be useful to cars and pedestrians.
c. The graphics for the windows at Shaws will be better than the dull, blank windows currently on offer.
d. The program for the windows at CVS will provide some cohesion to the rather haphazard approach so far and also block some of the unsightly views into CVS.
e. The sign for E&B is needed to make the business visible from Mass Ave.
f. The sign for Healthworks will indicate where their premises actually are and be visible from Mass Ave and Elm St.
Pictures of the proposed signs are available at www.portersquare.net

Gravestar has not yet filed for the variance.

Community policing
We were to meet the new beat cop, but he had to change shifts with someone else and thus is no longer in the 'hood. However, Sgt. O'Connor, Commissioner Haas, and another officer whose name I did not catch joined us. (I was distracted because I was adjusting the restraints on one member of the community who introduced the same issue at every opportunity, regardless what we were actually discussing.)

Several items of interest here:

a. We will be seeing more police on the streets fairly soon. A new class of recruits graduated from the academy the day of the meeting, and after a couple of weeks in the classroom, will be accompanying other officers on their respective rounds for a couple of months.
b. You are encouraged to report anything suspicious; these reports help the police identify patterns and target resources. It is particularly important to pay attention to such things during the holiday season so as to discourage those who want do avoid the crowds and do their Christmas shopping at your house. If you call 617-349-3300, you will be asked for your name and address but you are not required to provide it.
c. A log of criminal activity by neighborhood is available on the department web site and is updated on Wednesdays. Here's the link for North Cambridge: http://www.cambridgema.gov/CPD/publications//n11.cfm

Hotel Kaya
A lot has happened since August, when we last saw the plans. Michael McKee, the original architect, is back on the project, and things have come together rapidly ever since. During an interim period when nothing much was happening, at Mr. Gim's request I put together this summary of comments from the previous meetings as a program for the neighborhood. I did not address any of the abutters' issues.

In the plans we saw, the building is roughly 24,000 sq. ft, which is the maximum size of a multi-family housing, including the stuff he could move on the back lot to the front.

The building is 5 floors, and the top floor is set back. The front edge of the building lines up with that of the Masonic Temple, leaving room for outside seating that will probably be sheltered by an awning. The corner at Mass Ave and Porter Road curves at the property line and goes all the way down the transitional zone.

The building designed on all sides. There is no flat back or side wall; windows are everywhere. The hotel has 50 small rooms: 12 x 20 x 9; the park is still there.

All vehicles will enter and leave the site from Mass Ave; all turns and all access will be extremely tight, but McKee believes it can be done. The taxi stand is on the side of the building next to the driveway, in a little alcove; an enclosed loading bay is behind it.

The two-floor, 50-space underground garage is still there. The entrance to it and the garage itself are designed to accommodate the root ball of a tree that sits at the intersection of the Brady/Cole property, the temple, and the Kaya lot.

The traffic study is underway, and the smaller hotels in Kendall and Harvard squares are being used as points of comparison.

This project will require three variances.
a. To put the garage and the entrance to it under the Residence B section of the lot.
b. To build in the transitional zone required on the Commercial C section of the lot
c. To increase the FAR to accommodate the structure.
Pictures of the plans are available here: www.portersquare.net

The BZA hearing has been scheduled for January 24, 2008.

ELEVATORS AT PORTER SQUARE T STATION
The design work is 60% finished. Construction has not yet been scheduled because the design needs to be finished enough to solicit bids. The hope is that work will begin in 2008 and should take about 18 months. Note that this work would be just to install the new elevators. Replacing the current elevators is a separate project.

The design is far enough along to start dealing with bicycle parking, specifically, where to put move it when the bridge over the tracks displaces much of what is there now. The current thinking is a triangular rack that will be in the plaza (not the park) along Mass Ave. This triangle would not interfere with the current pedestrian paths through that area.

Some work along Somerville Avenue to add some steps and adjust the grade for wheelchairs will also involve adding more bicycle parking. The station can accommodate 42 bikes, and will be able to accommodate 60 when the project is finished. The good news is that there is great demand for such parking.

We were asked for input on which style of bike rack we preferred, and a couple of knowledgable PSNA members referred the MBTA design team to the Cambridge Bicycle Committee, whose members really understand that stuff.

TAVERN IN THE SQUARE + CAP POLICY
Although these were separate agenda items, they bled into each other as Jinny Nathans and others asked some fairly pointed questions about the application.

Mr. Arcari intends to serve dinner until 11 p.m. and offer a bar menu until closing. He expects that 60-70% of his clientele to arrive by MBTA, but subsidized parking will be available in the back lot. The entrance to that lot off of Mass Ave has been closed for some time, but will be reopened to handle restaurant traffic.

The issue of most interest was the entertainment license. Mr. Arcari said at first that he wasn't sure he'd really use it, and then said that he'd use it mostly for Sunday brunch and for private parties that want to have their own bands. When asked about whether entertainment would be used to get through those slow winter months, Mr. Arcari said that he wanted to have the option. He also reported that he has not had a single violation of any of the licenses granted for his operation in Central Square.

With respect to the 2 a.m. closing, concerns about the terms of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the building were raised. Specifically, we did not want to amend it through the back door. Concerns were also expressed about how patrons who arrive by the T would be getting home after 2 a.m. and having smokers milling around outside between 11 and 2. One PSNA member said that his office is above the restaurant in Central Square and reports that it's well run; but he doesn't know what it's like at night.

In the end, we decided to support the transfer or granting of any licenses that the Rustic Kitchen/Metro/Cottonwood had and to oppose the entertainment license and the extension of hours to 2 a.m. We liked Jinny Nathans's suggestion that he apply for single event licenses as needed; we'd be notified of each application.

In fairness, it looks like this restaurant will be a good fit for that space. The price point is right, and they are seeking to attract a neighborhood clientele (unlike Metro), and they did say that they'd like it to be a place to watch sports. They are installing windows on both sides like those at Temple Bar so that they can open in nice weather. However, if entertainment is on offer, those windows will be closed. They claim that the soundproofing on these sorts of doors is pretty good. (FWIW, that's been my experience in walking past the Joshua Tree in Davis Square on winter weekends during that long misery of the football season.)

FWIW, as a point of comparison, you might recall our concerns several years ago about Spirit, the bar that replaced that barbeque joint whose name I can't remember. We objected to the original plan to expand into the spot next door. They didn't, and that place has turned out pretty well. I've been known to a pint in there and will definitely have a couple more as long as the Red Sox are in the playoffs.

I ran into Mr. Arcari last week while chasing around on Hotel Kaya and learned that he did not get the entertainment license but did get the 2 a.m. closing that he asked for for six months. So he'll be back.

We didn't get as far into the CAP policy as I'd hoped because we ran out of time. I haven't been following this issue closely, and I learned that one of the changes has been to allow the transfer of licenses between capped areas. One implication of this is that license holders could move to in Harvard Square, draining the neighborhoods of their watering holes.

What also emerged from this discussion was the recognition that the MOA was signed 20 years ago, and that it would be worthwhile to take a look at it to see what, if anything, might be appropriate to change. PSNA is not a party to the agreement, but any amendment to it would require community support. Several PSNA members were involved in the original effort, and we'll be meeting soon to talk about it.

MICHELIN REVIEW OF MEETING SPACE
Lesley University provided a large, clean, well-lighted room with a view plus refreshments (cookies and coffee). The tables can be configured in many useful ways and lots of chairs are available.

Alas, there are a couple of drawbacks. First, the only way to get there is by two smallish elevators, so people arrived in batches of 5 every 7-8 minutes. Second, we probably wouldn't be able to have the same room every month.

And, of course, we shouldn't count on having the cookies every time.

There was no meeting in June.

EMACK AND BOLIO'S
Bob Rook of Emack & Bolio's arrived with three different flavors of ice cream and an eagerness to hear our complaints, which were largely about the erratic hours. E&B has one employee for each shift in the slow season and two in the high season. In the slow season, the store has to close so that the employee can go to the bathroom or the bank or get supplies from Star Market. Signs on the door such as "Back in 15 minutes" don't mean much because there is no indication of when the countdown started.

Mr. Rook acknowledged a problem with an employee, who has since been fired, in the winter/spring period. He was surprised to hear that the problem has continued. Someone suggested that he get one of those signs with a clock to indicate when the store would be open; he agreed to do that and will also look into what the problem might be now. He wants to fix it; if he hasn't send a report to me as we did for the post office, with a date and time, and I'll pass it along

The discussion turned to the lack of seating on the plaza outside. E&B stores some tables and chairs, but not enough to accommodate the demand and enliven the plaza. I suggested that Gravestar talk to Healthworks about handling this storage because they have more space and are open much earlier. Astrid suggested an installed table and benches like those in Davis Square. Si Shapiro agreed to bring this up with the city and with Gravestar.

Mr. Rook also said that that E&B hasn't raised prices in 2 years and is also $0.40 cheaper than JP Licks in Davis Square. I haven't had a chance to conduct any market research on this point, but I certainly intend to.

Also, E&B offers, but does not include on its menu, a smaller, cheaper cone for children. Attendants are supposed to offer it when parents are buying ice cream for their small childen, which is how you're supposed to find out. This option is not promoted to avoid a run on it by Patrons Of A Certain Age who merely want to continue to see their own feet.

Contrary to appearances, our local E&B is "doing just fine" in terms of being profitable to stay there, but Mr. Rook is definitely interested removing any barriers to selling more ice cream.

ZIPCAR
We had time to talk about the issue that Daniel Schutzberg raised on the list about the Zipcars that materialized in the driveway of the residential lot next to his house. Inspectional Services spoke with the new owner of 2-8 Orchard, who owns this lot, and the cars will be removed in the next couple of weeks. It is not legal to run a business (commercial) out of a residential lot. Zipcars have commercial license plates.

The process by which this all happened leaves much to be desired. The owner who leased the spaces to Zipcar needed to communicate with the city and the abutters, and abide by zoning. A regional manager for Zipcar came to check out the site, found nothing wrong, and apparently assumed that the owner had done what the city required of him. So they just made a deal.

Residents apparently have no way of knowing whether the process was followed for the other Zipcar spaces that are turning up in various residential locations unless they inquire.

Does anyone want to pursue this? (Don't look at me; my dance card is full.)

FARMER'S MARKET
I have learned since the meeting that there will be no market in Porter Square this summer because a manager could not be found.

REVIEW OF PLANS FOR HOTEL KAYA
EVENTS SINCE MAY
After Mr. Gim presented his preliminary plans at our May meeting, Michael Brandon was concerned that not all abutters had been heard from. He leafleted part of Porter Road ahead of the meeting with North Cambridge Stabilization the following week, where Mr. Gim presented his plans. Michael was correct: Many folks on Porter Road had not heard about this project, and some had complaints about the operations of Kaya.

Mr. Gim contacted me afterward, and when we met, I suggested that he meet with residents of Porter Road to inform them of his plans and to hear their complaints. My thought was that he needed to understand these problems and address them in his plans. He held that meeting on Tuesday, July 17.

The abutters' complaints concerned rats, lingering odors associated with washing greasy equipment on the sidewalk, and employees who park in the loading zone. I understand that the rat problem had been taken care of sometime in the spring.

THE PLANS

The presentation to the abutters and PSNA consisted of three plans: the preliminary one we saw in May, a newer version that responded to some of the comments from that meeting, and an apartment building that could be built as of right.

The size of the hotel project has not changed: 54 rooms with 38 parking spaces. The latest plan has two restaurants instead of one (the karaoke bar is back) that sop up the 210 seats that Kaya has licenses for. The building is 4 stories with 18 rooms on each of the top 3 floors.

The traffic & parking plan is the same: all spaces are underground, with tandem (valet) parking for 14 spaces; cars will enter on Mass Ave and exit on Porter Road through a new curb cut.

The apartment building would include the affordable housing bonus and would contain 42 units, each 300 sq. ft. Required parking (42 spaces) would be at and below grade. The section of the lot that is zoned for residential use is 40% open space, as required. This space is in two places on the site: the larger area is close to the abutters on Porter Park and the smaller one is along Porter Road. The plan for the lot includes the curb cut on Porter Road, which would not be available as of right.

Mr. Gim said that he would prefer to build the hotel.

The new plan for the hotel responds to our comments about the undifferentiated wall by adding some bay windows and breaking the façade into two parts, with a notched section that turns in from the sidewalk a little bit and has a different facing material. The unnotched section is cantilevered over the outdoor seating for the restaurant, as shown in the previous plan.

ISSUES RAISED

Operational

A laundry room and other facilities that would service the hotel are in the underground story. It is not clear where all the functions will go and whether space for the sort of cleaning of kitchen equipment that has bothered abutters is part of this area. The concern is to handle all of this stuff on site and far from residential structures. Obviously, there wasn't enough time between Tuesday and Thursday to flesh this out, but it needs to be done.

Another concern was noise from the karaoke bar, which Mr. Gim pointed out would be in the basement.

Someone asked whether an engineer had checked the drainage system. Flooding and sewer problems were and still are common in that area.

Hotel vs. housing

Some residents of Porter Road would prefer housing to a hotel. One person asked whether a hybrid of hotel and housing was an option.

The size and the appearance of the building

The new plans do not respond to the concerns raised in May about the massing of the building. In May, we had suggested setting back the top floor and considering other ways to make this large building look smaller than it is. Thus, it remains The Incredible Hulk, reinforcing the very thing that folks detest about the Long Funeral Home across the street: its scale.

When the possibility of making the hotel smaller (as in fewer rooms) was raised, Mr. Gim said that the fewest he could have was 48. Fewer rooms would have to go for rates higher than $200, which is the figure he's working with now. A comparison to the Kendall Hotel, which charges $300 and up, suggests the hotel might be a more up-scale building, but the resulting higher rates would not make the hotel an option for residents to put up guests.

Traffic flow + curb cut

There are several issues.

First, the loading dock is at the rear right corner of the building along the driveway and close to the entrance to the underground parking. Concerns were raised about whether there was sufficient room for trucks to make the turn on the site and for vehicles to enter and exit the garage when a truck is parked by the dock. A loading bay, in which trucks pull out of the stream of traffic, such as those behind Star Market, might be required.

Second, how traffic enters and leaves the site is probably the biggest concern. Traffic would enter on Mass Ave and leave on Porter Road. This curb cut required to make this work would eliminate two on-street parking spaces. This loss would be enormous to Porter Road residents. Many folks would prefer that all traffic enter and leave on Mass Ave.

Third, a serious traffic study is required and it needs to be based on input from residents.

Fourth, parking for employees is not addressed. Mr. Gim estimates that 30 employees, 15 employees on the morning and swing shift; 4-5 on the night shift. He will subsidize T passes for employees, but some will not be able to or want to use public transportation.

The park in the back

There were differences of opinion about the open space behind the building. Residents of Porter Park suggested that the residential portion of the lot become a park. Mr. Gim has presented the park as an amenity that would be open to the public. Some abutters like this idea, but other abutters would prefer resident-only parking. Another concern about the park is that it would attract vagrants, particularly at night; others point out that because the park is on private property, it would be easier to remove any members of the public who attempt to live there.

WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE POST OFFICE?

Peter Gessell, who represents us customers on the Post Office's customer advisory board, gave a brief history of how that board came about and the various pressures and changes that the PO is confronting. He is the person I've been sending your reports to, and he told us that the information was very helpful. The dates and times helped to distinguish chronic patterns from problems that could be attributed to specific events.

The somewhat chronic problem of the long lines is due to the small size of a pool of workers who fill in when others are sick, on vacation, or otherwise unable to be where they normally are. The new postmaster has taken action to expand that pool, and the new folks will be in place on June 9. Thus, if the problems we've been complaining about continue after that date, please send a report to the list.

CAP POLICY

Frank Connolly from the Cambridge Prevention Coalition gave an overview of what his group does. This coalition is a grant-funded operation in the city of Cambridge that works with holders of liquor licenses to train personnel to enforce the liquor laws, for example, recognizing fake IDs, learning the signs that someone has had too much to drink (some people don't reach for a lampshade), and cutting off drinks to them.

As you might suspect, the coalition works closely with the license commission. Frank provided some information about studies that have been done about various actions that keep booze away from minors (and some other stuff that I can't seem to find at the moment). One practice that seems to be pretty effective is to have fewer outlets (bars and package stores); thus, the pressure to revise the CAP policy and make it easier to get a liquor license has other side effects.

We were unable to get into this issue as much as I'd hoped, in part because I wanted to keep the meeting on schedule. I've invited Jinny Nathans, who can speak about the source of the pressure, to do so at our July 19 meeting.

FARMERS MARKET

Si Shapiro reported on his efforts to start this market for at least part of this season, ideally from mid-August until sometime in October. The MBTA plaza is still the only available location in the area. He's looking for a market manager to run it, and some farmers to sell us stuff for the manager to boss around. This is not a done deal yet, so keep your fingers crossed.

PSNA WEB SITE

DC Denison, John Howard, and I are putting together a new Web site for PSNA at a new location. The success of this list makes our dusty presence in cyberspace even more embarrassing, and we expect to have a fairly basic site available by the end of July.

One of things I'd like to be able to do is to post documents that I cannot send to this list. Another possibility is to post recommendations (or warnings) about various services available in the neighborhood. The recent flurry of activity about plumbers and car repair suggest at least some demand and interest.

I'd be very interested in your thoughts about the kind of information or features that you would find useful.

HOTEL KAYA

We reviewed the early drawings for building. The discussion that followed is difficult to capture, particularly two weeks afterward, but here are some details about the plans so far:

- They are seeking a variance for a FAR of 2.0 for the entire lot, which allows them to build a structure of 30,000 sq ft. This is roughly twice the size of the building still known as Long's Funeral Home. The building would be built on the front part of the lot, basically where the restaurant is now, but with a different footprint.

- Some of the sq. ft will be underground; the structure above ground will be four floors.

- The (underground) parking will accommodate 24 spaces for self-parking and 14 for valet parking. This accommodates all the spaces that the zoning would require, but they will need a variance to put garage under the back part of the lot.

- A restaurant that opens out to the street will be on the ground floor.

- Traffic will be routed through the site from the current driveway around the building onto Porter Road back to Mass. Ave.

- Light will enter the building through windows on all sides and a large skylight in the roof.

One point we spent some time on was setting back the top floors. Although the drawings were presented as preliminary, the flat, boxy look of Long's and the glass building across the street from it was hard to miss. The architect brought some finished drawings from the housing that the firm (Kyu Sung Woo) is building for Harvard to show what a finished building might look like. To my mind, at least, it looked like a box but with bricks and bigger windows than Long's.

Elaine Severino, who served on the commission that wrote the far more straightforward zoning ordinance that Somerville has (and actually enforces), suggested the setback. Somerville required the builders of what is now the Citizens Bank in Davis Square (across the street from the Rosebud) to do that. The building is quite large, but doesn't look as big as it is. Note that the Masonic Temple next to Kaya does the same thing and also does not look so big.

I encourage those of you who were paying attention to other parts of the discussion to chime in.

For a meeting that I almost canceled, we certainly covered some reasonable ground last week.

CAMBRIDGE SCIENCE FESTIVAL
The woman I invited to come had to bail at the last minute, so we didn’t get a detailed list of the events. The festival runs from April 21-29. They want to make this an annual event.

Details here: http://cambridgesciencefestival.org/

Note that the PDF files on the home page seem to be more helpful than the site itself, which given that MIT is sponsoring this whole thing is fairly amusing (to me, anyway).

NORTH CAMBRIDGE FAMILY OPERA (NCFO)
One of the events in the science festival is a musical piece for kids, written by David Haines, who wrote the piece that the NCFO performed last year. Heather Hoffman from East Cambridge, whose daughter is in the chorus, came to get the word out about that performance and also the NFCO performance of a new work by David Bass and John Kane this weekend and next.

Details here: http://www.familyopera.org/

WIFI IN CAMBRIDGE
Mary Hart, CIO for Cambridge, and her colleague, Ash Dyer, gave a quick overview that explained how it works and what they were doing. They also some answered questions. I can remember none of the details as it was the sort technical stuff that makes my eyes glaze over. Those of you asked the questions and remember the answers are encouraged to post that information.

But here are the points I remember:

+ Cambridge is one of several cities that is trying to set up wifi and is no further ahead or behind than the rest of them.

+ Harvard Square is pushing to get this set up first, as part of the renovations and other efforts to restore it to a destination site in the area.

+ The city seems to be responding to wherever the demand is coming from, so if we are dying to have this in Porter Square next, we need to organize our cage-rattling efforts.

You'll probably get better information here: http://www.cambridgema.gov/wifi/

LESLEY UNIVERSITY
George Smith gave an update, with drawings, of planned changes to the Porter Exchange building. This building will be renamed to University Hall at some point, but we locals will probably always call it Sears ;-)

+ The Rustic Kitchen will reopen as The Parish Café around June. (The delay is due largely to the time required to transfer the liquor license.) All the renovations that have been done in that space in the last few years are redounding to benefit the new tenants, who plan to make the place more open and bright, moving away from the bat cave that the previous tenant created.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I'd never heard of this place, but the chef and manager have been running a restaurant of the same name and concept in Boston since 1992. This will be their second one. The menu seems quite reasonable and priced to what the neighborhood is likely to support. For details, check out their Web site: http://www.parishcafe.com/index.html

+ Lesley has signed a contract with Bruner/Cott (architects who did the Mass MoCA buildings in North Adams) for the AIB buildings. Ideally, the first meeting for public input to the design will be held before graduation this year.

+ The pictures that George brought were of the plans for giving the Porter Exchange building a stronger identity with Lesley. The two front entrances will have a new glass “awning” through which you will be able to see two signs for “Lesley University” over the top of the doors.

Between these entrances will be more street entrances to four smaller retail spaces. (They have a letter of intent from Starbucks for one of them.) The construction underway inside is a glass wall at the back of these spaces, so you’ll be able to see through the building from the sidewalk.

The back entrance will have the same new “awning” as the front plus some landscaping.

ELEVATOR PROJECT FOR PORTER SQUARE STATION
Although we actually spent the most time on this item, there is not much to say about it. The design work is almost 30% finished and appears to be on schedule. One new item that emerged since we saw plans in January, was to leave a space next to the new elevator for an elevator from the street to the commuter rail platform. Hard to know how this work would be funded, but it will at least be possible.

We will see these plans again in June, when will be close to 60% finished.

PAST AND FUTURE EVENTS
+ The city of Cambridge lost one of two tactical manuevers filed after our victory on the appeal to avoid having the hearing re: Long Funeral Home. We should hear about the fate of the second one soon. If they lose that one as well, we will be able to take a number and get in line for a hearing date.

+ Qdoba got the liquor license.

+ Next month's meeting will probably be devoted largely to reviewing/discussing plans for Hotel Kaya.

+ We are going to have a Porter Square clean-up day on (note change in date) Saturday, April 21 from 11 am to 2 pm. The folks at the Hope Fellowship church where we meet did one of these a couple years ago and were very helpful in laying out what needs to be done, where, and for how long. (Thanks, Odoi.) Members of their congregation will join us.

HOTEL KAYA
Over the last month or so, this project has evolved from a 5-story structure with 40 rooms that would require a FAR of 4.5 to a 4-story structure with 50 rooms that would require a FAR of 2. The new FAR is what would be allowed if the building were housing with the affordable housing bonus. Thus, I expect that this will sail through the BZA.

To put more rooms into fewer stories, the rooms have to be pretty small: 17x12. This seems to support the stated intention to cater to visitors from Japan and Korea. I don't think that such small rooms would appeal to us natives, at least at the price they are likely to command. (But if they have hourly rates, then we have much bigger problems ;-)

A lot of the structure will be underground--a 32-car garage, all of the mechanicals that don't have to be on the roof, and the laundry and other utility areas. The garage will be on the back part of the lot, under the current lot. The top of this area will become a private park for public use.

They are still talking about putting one restaurant on the first floor and making the street edge lively.
They intend to provide all parking required, which is 32 spaces (1 space per 2 rooms; 1 space per 10 (or is it 20?)patrons in the restaurant).

They have not yet done enough design work that would generate a drawing; we might see some next month, or certainly by June. They would like to go to the BZA in 3-4 months. They are trying to address all the issues in such a way as to maximize support for the project, which is certainly refreshing.

FARMER'S MARKET
Si Shapiro has been looking in to having a farmer's market here this summer. Ideally, it would be open from mid-August to around Halloween on Tuesday or Thursday (those who attended the meeting tended to prefer Thursday) in the late afternoon. The busy time at the shopping center is 4-7, and it would be good for everyone to have the market run that late.

But there are a couple of known issues that make this delightful possibility difficult to pull off.

First is finding farmers. The demand for such markets is so strong that it is difficult to find enough farmers to meet it. And many farmers just don't want to deal with such markets if they have other options for selling their harvest.

Second is the site. Farmers prefer to sell out of the back of a truck, which makes a parking lot the most desirable site. But that is not an option here. (Forget about the lots at the shopping center and Lesley; the respective tenants have contractual claims on them.) Thus, the only suitable site available in the neighborhood is the park next to the subway station.

So the goal this year would be to convince those cranky tillers of the soil that there's enough money to be made here that would compensate them for the inconvenience of selling their corn and tomatoes to us.

There is no guarantee that the market will happen this year; it might happen next year. It would be very helpful to hear from you as to whether you'd support this market (support=buy stuff), which day you would prefer to have it, and what you think of the hours.

MBTA PARK
Our number has come up, in a good way. We've asked for a couple of addition trash cans and to fix and improve the lighting in the park just when the T was starting to pay attention to the maintenance issues at Porter Square. The work on the lighting will begin the week of April 30, weather permitting. I'm trying to find out when the trash cans will be installed, but I've been assured that it will be before July 4.

NEIGHBORHOOD CLEANUP
We cleaned up quite a bit of it on Saturday. But on Sunday morning at 8:30, when I walked past some of the areas that I know were cleaned, they looked as though they hadn't been touched. This is really disappointing. We are or are inflitrated by slobs, my friends.

One thing that doing such work makes you keenly aware of is cigarette butts. They are everywhere! A couple of people told me that they've contacted Christopher's and Spirit, respectively about this, and that effort seems to help. I'm told that one of those places (forget which one) had its sand-filled urn on the sidewalk stolen at regular intervals and finally gave up.

The other thing that you notice is how much public drinking goes on. I picked up a lot of broken glass, bottle tops, pop tabs, and nips bottles in the MBTA park. I certainly expected some, yet I was really surprised at how much of it there was. On the other hand, I got to talking to a couple of regulars in the park, and one of them does a pretty decent Elvis, at least for a few bars.