Committee Reviews Plans For MBTA Lot Complex

A state-appointed project review committee is now considering three proposals for developing the site of the abandoned MBTA Yard on Boylston St., State Rep. Thomas H.D. Mahoney of Cambridge, the committee chairman, said yesterday.

The project, which will include residential housing, hotel, office and business facilities and a parking area, will fill one-third of the 4.23 acre lot. The remainder will be taken up by the Kennedy School of Government and a park commemorating former President John F. Kennedy '40.

The committee selected proposals submitted by three local firms in accordance with the Harvard Square Policy Plan, Frank Keefe, director of state planning and another committee member, said yesterday.

Cambridge

The plan, which limits the size and style of new construction in the Square area, was drawn up by Cambridge citizens, seeking to "retain the aesthetic values of Harvard Square," John Dorfman '76, and aide to Lt. Gov. Thomas P. O'Neill III, said yesterday.

The committee selected the proposals submitted by Boston Urban Associates--The Architects' Collaborative of Boston and Cambridge, the Cambridge Carbon Co./Benjamin Thompson Associates of Cambridge, and The Carpenter and Co./Cambridge Seven Associates.

Both design and financial feasibility will by major considerations in determining the final choice, Keefe said. Construction costs for the project have been estimated at between $25 and $40 million.

The land was originally proposed as a site for the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library, but the Kennedy Library Corporation decided in November 1975 to build the library at University of Massachusetts' Columbia Point campus.

The committee expects to reach a decision by late fall.