Cambridge Planning Board Unanimously Approves 16-Story Arts and Lab Tower in Kendall Square

CAMBRIDGE — January 25, 2022 — Cambridge Planning Board unanimously approves 16-story lab and arts complex at 330 Third Street in Kendall Square. The board voted 7-0 on January 25 to grant BMR 3rd LLC a final planned unit development special permit for the project, known as 585 Arts, which includes a 350-seat theater, roughly 17,000 square feet of indoor-outdoor public commons, and a revised facade featuring seven colors graduating from warm earth tones at the base to cooler hues at the top. Daniel Messplay, Senior Manager for Zoning and Development, told the board the single-phase development could proceed to a building permit with conditions attached from both the Community Development Department and the Traffic, Parking, and Transportation Department. Five public commenters spoke in support, including Connie Chen, Executive Director of Global Arts Live, who read a letter announcing a combined $1.5 million philanthropic commitment from donors Katrine Bosley and Nagesh Mahanthapa toward the 585 Arts nonprofit. Board member Stephen Cohen called the project "awesome," and the applicant indicated construction could begin as early as the third quarter of 2022.