MIT to redevelop Kendall "as quickly as possible"

I continue to be amazed that while so little new retail is being considered by Harvard in Allston, MIT in Cambridge want to move forward quickly with is major redevelopment of Kendall Square.

Sketch of Kendall Square proposal pleases board | Cambridge Day

The proposal heard at the Tuesday informational session, during which board members could speak and ask questions but the public could not, would bring 940,000 square feet of labs and offices, 100,000 of retail and 60,000 for market-rate housing. That’s enough square footage for between 40 and 50 units, associate board member Charles Studen said.

The school could get 800,000 new square feet for academic research out of the development. Although the timeline for the project is muddy, the school’s enthusiasm was made very clear by Michael Owu, director of real estate for the MIT Investment Management Co.

“We want to create this space as quickly as possible,” Owu said.