Harvard Sq. seeks its soul: Committees eye winning formula
By Donna Goodison
Sunday, July 23, 2006 - Updated: 12:36 PM EST

Cambridge is getting down to business when it comes to creating a “healthy Harvard Square.”

    After a series of meetings that began last fall, the Cambridge Economic Development Division is forming six committees to address the top issues confronting the square in the eyes of city officials, business owners and residents.

    “Cambridge is all about process,” said Denise Jillson, executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association. “This is very important, because Harvard Square has been a destination for almost 400 years. I’m really glad that they’re taking the time to ask people what they want to enhance the square.”

    Chief among concerns is the long-hashed-over debate about the mall-ification of the square - the mix of national chains versus independent stores in the premier city destination that has always taken pride in its one-of-a-kind charm.

    The continued debate comes even as Harvard Square was touted last week on ABC’s “The View” as one of the top five shopping destinations in the world in the same company as the Middle East retail mecca of Dubai.

    The Harvard Square “retail mix” committee will look at the desired balance of stores and work with landlords to address the high cost of retail space. High rents are blamed on the deals landlords can exact from deep-pocketed chains willing to pay for prime locations.

    “These chains came in and drove up the rents,” said Laury Hammel, a Harvard Square resident and coordinator of Cambridge Local First. The network of 100-plus locally owned and independent businesses formed last October to raise awareness about locally owned businesses throughout Cambridge.

    But, Hammel added, “There’s already been a diminishing of rents in the last six months because of the law of supply and demand. I know at least three cases where retailers were able to negotiate a lower rent. That being said, we’re still not at the level we’d like.”

    Chains have found it’s not always easy to succeed in Harvard Square, where major retailers such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Pacific Sunwear and The Limited have pulled up stakes in recent years.

    Another of the six committees will focus on Harvard Square’s image by creating a marketing and branding campaign that includes slogans, signs, buttons and T-shirts.

    These newest efforts to reinvigorate Harvard Square coincide with a $6.8 million program to improve roads, sidewalks, plazas and lighting in five key locations in the square, to make it more pedestrian-friendly.

    Increased outdoor activities in the square will be the focus of another committee, which will look at adding more outdoor dining, art projects, cultural events and entertainment. A group also will work on developing an automated online system to list events around Harvard Square and at Harvard University.

    “When chains come in, they drive people who come into the square away,” Hammel said. “You can go to those stores anywhere in the country. People come to Harvard Square because they want something that’s funky and interesting and unique that you don’t get anywhere else.” 

 Still, Hammel rates Harvard Square as a seven out of 10 as a destination.

    “Anybody who tries to trash Harvard Square doesn’t understand what’s there,” he said. “There’s a number of high-quality, very interesting and rare kind of stores.”

    For every store that does leave, another is waiting in the wings to take its place, Jillson said.

    “Some people get attached to certain places, but they leave and somebody else comes in, and it’s the new favorite place,” she said.

    “The one thing we can count on is the square is in constant motion, and it’s a good thing. It just can’t stay the same.”

     And other chains still are among the new retailers and restaurants placing their bets on Harvard Square.

    American Apparel will open this summer at the former site of Harnetts Homeopathy & Body Care on Brattle Street; IHOP will open on Elliott Street; and Qdoba Mexican Grill will open on Massachusetts Avenue.

     “If places were closing, and there wasn’t anybody standing behind them ready to come in, that would be an issue,” Jillson said. “Ultimately the decision to rent is the decision of the property owner. They don’t all agree on what’s the best retail mix, and we basically have to deal with the cards that we are dealt.”