MIT's decade-long project approved

Six years of discussions, reviews and plans has led to the Planning Board’s unanimous approval Tuesday of MIT’s proposal to create six new buildings, as well as open space, in Kendall Square.

The plan will transform five parking lots into space for housing, retail, offices and laboratories, and expand upon an already existing graduate student dormitory at MIT.

The Planning Board approved the development Tuesday night, marking the end of its years-long journey to fruition. According to a press release from MIT, hundreds of public hearings and community meetings and the work of several institute task forces and committees contributed to the final decision.

“The project is at a very positive place right now. The discussions have been incredibly productive, and the project as we look at it right now incorporates a lot of the goals that have been discussed,” said Iram Farooq, assistant city manager for Community Development.

According to Farooq, a tremendous amount of work has been done collaboratively between MIT and city staff to develop the plan. MIT has been working with the city on transportation litigation, stormwater issues and improving sustainability, particularly as the development relates to net-zero standards in the city. From here, MIT will return to the Planning Board to look at each building specifically, Farooq said

“It is wonderful to have the approval of the Cambridge Planning Board. This culminates a long, thoughtful process that has led to an exciting vision and plan for Kendall Square,” said MIT Provost Marty Schmidt in a written statement.

“Early on in this process, the community had many questions, and some concerns about this project. I am delighted to see that as a result of deep engagement with our campus community and the city, we have been able to develop a Kendall Square plan that is appealing to all stakeholders,” he added.

The development will take place over the course of the next decade, and will include residential and retail spaces, in addition to a major new graduate student residence hall and new buildings for research facilities. The project will also offer direct connections between Main Street and MIT campus, according to plans. Each building will be subjected to a design review with the city prior to construction.

The new buildings will provide about 290 affordable and market-rate housing units, 250 net new graduate-student residential units, research and development buildings, more than 100,000 square feet of new and repositioned retail space, and generous open spaces, according to plans.

In addition to more housing, retail, office, lab and academic space, the plan calls for a 2-acre public plaza and the creation of a new head house at the Kendall Square MBTA station, which would be subject to the MBTA's approval.

"I can imagine Kendall Square a decade from now, with the expanded capacity making it possible to realize an amplified innovation playground anchored on and around MIT,” said MIT’s executive vice president and treasurer, Israel Ruiz, who spoke at the meeting Tuesday.

MIT is planning to add around 7,000 square feet of ground-floor retail with the housing in a site currently being used as a parking lot for One Broadway, located between Broad Canal Way, Third Street and Main Street. The institute is proposing to move those parking spaces to an above-grade lot within the 250-foot residential building and to add a second, smaller retail building adjacent to the new residences, contributing another 9,000 square feet of retail to the site.

South of Main Street, which MIT has dubbed the “SoMa” district, the institute is proposing adding more than 1 million square feet of office or lab space, around 100,000 square feet of retail, and nearly 100,000 square feet of new academic or university office space.

The plan includes moving the MIT Museum closer to the heart of Kendall Square, adding a new parking garage and expanding upon existing graduate student housing on Main Street.

MIT would like to move a 201-unit dormitory down the street, adding around 250 units in the process, bringing the total number of graduate student housing to around 450 units. An existing childcare facility in the dormitory would be part of the new dorm, according to the plans.

The proposal includes the addition of 2-acre publicly accessible plaza set behind three historic buildings on Main Street, which would be in addition to the 8 acres of green space that already exists in the area.

According to Ruiz, after a century of physically moving MIT’s campus to Cambridge, the Kendall Square project allows them to create a destination for the MIT community and Cambridge residents, an environment for unleashing groundbreaking discoveries, and economic growth across the region.

“I am grateful to the Cambridge and MIT communities for their dedication and immense contributions to the extensive public process over the past six years. We will continue this engagement into the future,” he said.

To contact Chronicle reporter Natalie Handy, email nhandy@wickedlocal.com or follow her on Twitter @nataliehandy.