The Cambridge City Council earlier this week pushed back two key deadlines related to the fate of the iconic Harvard Square kiosk that currently houses Out-of-Town News.
Recall that Cambridge’s $4,600,000 renovation plan for the square’s central plaza has no room for the kiosk as it is today. The 500-square-foot structure dates from 1928, when it opened originally as an entrance for the Red Line stop. It has been used as a newsstand since 1984.
The newsstand owner’s current lease is up in July 2017, shortly before Cambridge wants to start renovation work on the city-owned plaza.
Bids for what that renovation work would produce in place of the kiosk were supposed to be due Nov. 17. What’s more, potential bidders had until Nov. 8 to ask the city questions about the process.
The Cambridge City Council, however, alarmed that things were moving a tad too fast and wishing to hear from more corners, voted unanimously this week to reset both deadlines for January.
Make no mistake: The current kiosk is doomed. What’s next is not exactly clear.