Cambridge Library and Police Studies

Cambridge, MA

Prospect Street Main Public Library / Police Headquarters (two options)

Prepared for the City of Cambridge, this study examined the feasibility of locating either a new Main Public Library or a new Police Headquarters on an existing parking lot at 65 Prospect Street, one block north of Central Square in Cambridge. As either use would displace existing surface parking at 65 Prospect Street, the study also explored the viability of providing replacement parking on the adjacent 111 Bishop Allen Drive. This study further considered locating a commercial building and small public park above the underground replacement parking structure at 111 Bishop Allen Drive.

To determine the feasibility of the sites for these uses, the study considered the Library and Police Department programs, the urban design impacts of each use, zoning requirements, existing geotechnical conditions, traffic analyses, and preliminary cost estimates for four design alternatives. The study established the viability of 65 Prospect Street for either a new Main Public Library or a new Police Headquarters. The study further determined that 111 Bishop Allen Drive could provide the required replacement parking and also support a small commercial development and new public park.

Massachusetts Avenue & Green Street Main Public Library, Post Office and YMCA

Prepared for the City of Cambridge in collaboration with Hubert Murray Architect + Planner, this study examined the feasibility of a strategy to redevelop three major civic institutions on a consolidated urban site facing City Hall. The concurrent need for a new main library and YMCA, and the offer by the US Postal Service to engage in conversations with the City in consideration of a significant municipal project, suggested a remarkable potential development. The proposed design imagined a new four-story YMCA constructed over two levels of underground parking located on the existing Green Street parking lot, a new Central Square Post Office constructed within space vacated by the existing YMCA with renovated single-room-occupancy (SRO) housing above accessed by a new, dedicated entry, and the new Cambridge Main Library constructed within the restored and expanded post office building.