MIT Holds Community Brainstorming Sessions for New Kendall Square Space

MIT is soliciting ideas for a new public space in Kendall Square. Public meetings will be held in order to give members of the community an opportunity to voice their ideas for the space. For more information, see the letter below:

MIT is exploring concepts for its properties in Kendall Square and would like to get your input.  Please sign up for a community brainstorming session in order to share your ideas with us!

Kendall Square is known throughout the region for its innovative businesses and start-up companies.  What has long been missing from Kendall Square – a critical location at a gateway to Cambridge from Boston and accessible by the Red Line – are enough of the types of publicly accessible spaces that make it an enjoyable gathering place for employees, community members, students, and visitors to the region. 

MIT is in the process of exploring new ideas for its properties surrounding the Kendall/MIT MBTA station.  Although full plans have not been developed, one of the goals of the effort is to enliven the ground floor of current and future buildings with a wide range of uses that will generate excitement and create an enhanced sense of community.

We are hosting a series of community brainstorming sessions to discuss ideas and opportunities for the publicly accessible space in Kendall Square.  Among the suggestions we have already heard are patios for outdoor dining, retail shops, public art, and interactive exhibits celebrating technological innovations.  But we want to know what you think!

All of the sessions are the same, so please choose whichever one is most convenient for you.  In order to help with our planning, we are requesting advance registration.  Each session will be approximately 75 to 90 minutes long and held at the Cambridge Marriott.

·         Tuesday, September 28, 7:30 pm

·         Wednesday, September 29, 8:00 am

·         Wednesday, September 29, 7:30 pm

·         Register:

E-mail your name, contact information and selected session to kendallsquare@MIT.edu to register.  You will receive confirmation of your participation in your selected session.  Your contact information will not be used for any other purpose.

·         Feedback:

Whether or not you can attend a session, please feel free to send an e-mail with your thoughts to kendallsquare@MIT.edu.

·         Learn:

For more about MIT in Kendall Square, please visit http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2010/kendall-update.html

Sincerely,

Sarah Gallop

Co-Director, Government and Community Relations

MIT