The many revisions of the original plans havebeen aimed at this goal of making the buildingmore appealing to a greater number of people.
The city held public hearings regarding theHolmes development in November and January atwhich time residents testified for and against theproject, Barber says.
The CSAC, a group of residents who volunteertheir time to serve the community, has reviewedthe Holmes plans six times since August and hassuggested changes to the Board. The CSAC helps theBoard decide if zoning laws should be relaxed toaccommodate the development, says George R.Metzger, chair of the CSAC.
"We had some strong objections [in our firstreport], and we asked that the Planning Boardreject it," Metzger says. "In our December reportwe recognized that most of the issues had beenadded...size was no longer an issue."
Representatives of Holmes as well as Cambridgeresidents say they recognize that the city waspartly responsible for beginning thegentrification of the Square.
Cambridge ended rent control in 1995,permitting businesses to raise rents much higherthan previously.
Goldstein says the city has been giving storeowners incentives to renovate their facades toimprove the look of the Square for several years.
"The city has had a program to encourageproperty owners to improve their facades. They getsome funding from the city," Goldstein says.
Goldstein adds that his business, Mass. Ave.Realty Trust, made some improvements to its facadeover the summer, taking advantage of the city'sfunding.
Salzman criticizes the city for not playing alarger role in attempting to prevent Holmes fromforcing tenants out of its building.
"My own wish would be that the wholedevelopment could be done by a democratic processwith the whole society involved," Salzman says."The city should take over."