Of the "Pro," Levitan said their proximity to student dorms was a concern for the University, but that it did not motivate the current action.
"It's a tough question," he said. "When Harvard bought the building the Pro was already there. Given that, we didn't ever take any action to extricate them from our property."
Indeed, HPRE is working with "Pro" owners to find a new home in Harvard Square--possibly in another Harvard-owned building.
Still, Levitan acknowledged that a liquor store makes a less-than-ideal University tenant.
"I don't think we would actively seek out a new tenant that was a liquor store if they didn't already have some history in our property," he says.
"It would be way down on our list of priorities to seek out a liquor store in one of our spaces, [there are] other uses that we would look more favorably on," he adds.
The new building will be around 23,000 square feet and cost between $5 and $6 million to construct.
According to zoning requirements the site can accommodate up to 5 stories, which could make its height similar to that of The Garage complex across the street.
Read more in News
Two Mother's Days Out at the MFARecommended Articles
-
Harvard Treats Tenants UnfairlyAs a major landholder in Cambridge, Harvard Planning and Real Estate (HPRE) is responsible for much of the financial dealings
-
Holyoke Center Shifts Focus to InformationHarvard Real Estate is in the process of converting the retail space in the Holyoke Center to an area focused
-
FAS Could Take Over Hotel At Any TimeA week after Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) Jeremy R. Knowles announced that the Inn at
-
Harvard Settles With Pudding RestaurantPutting an end to months of legal wrangling, Harvard University and the restaurant UpStairs at the Pudding announced yesterday that
-
City Rejects Harvard's Designs for BuildingHarvard's plan for a new contemporary building at 90 Mt. Auburn Street was unanimously opposed by the Cambridge Historical Commission
-
Cross-Campus Construction Transforms Harvard's SkylineHarvard was busy this summer altering its skyline to provide for expansion of its affiliated housing, art collection and hotel
