By Karen Klinger

The Cambridge Historical Commission finally gave the go ahead July 1 to a controversial condominium complex in Porter Square linked to the historic St. James's Episcopal Church, following the latest installment of a protracted public hearing that stretched incrementally over seven months.

The six commission members who were present voted unanimously to grant a "certificate of appropriateness" that Oaktree Development needs to tear down the church's deteriorating parish hall as the first stage in the construction of a four-story, 78,000-square-foot structure comprising 46 upscale condo units on land partly owned by the church and partly by Oaktree adjacent to St. James's iconic 1888 sanctuary at the intersection of Beech Street and Massachusetts Avenue.

Final approval, though, is still subject to what commission chairman William King called a "tightening up" of language pertaining to the church's agreement to set up a dedicated endowment fund to use its share of proceeds from the condo sales to restore and maintain the sanctuary and to guarantee public access to a courtyard that will, in essence, replace the existing "Knights Garden" designed in 1915 by pioneering city planner John Nolen.

King said the commission also would hold an on-site, open-air hearing at an undetermined date so it could view a full-scale mockup of the materials Oaktree proposes to use on the new building's exterior, one of the lingering details still to be resolved.

The commission's decision is the latest twist in a story that began a year and a half ago when representatives of Oaktree and the church first appeared at a meeting of the Porter Square Neighbors Association (PSNA) to discuss tentative plans to build a complex that would include both the condos and a ground floor replacement for the existing parish hall on land that combined a lot purchased by Oaktree that was formerly the site of the Cambridge Car Wash and a portion of the adjoining church property.

Since that time, neighborhood opposition to the plan has grown, with abutters and other residents contending that the complex was too large, that it would overshadow the nearby mostly Victorian houses and that it would cause traffic and parking problems. Neighbors also were unhappy about what some considered the destruction of the Knights Garden, notable not only for its link to Nolen, but because at 14,000 square feet it is the largest remaining parcel of open space on Mass Ave. in North Cambridge. The courtyard that the condo building would wrap around would be about half the size.

During the past year, as acrimony between neighborhood residents and church representatives increased over the proposal, there were attempts to find some common ground, including several meetings facilitated by State Rep. Alice Wolf (D-Cambridge). Some of the neighbors also formed a group to put forward alternatives to parts of the development's design, but the effort went nowhere and eventually, seemed to run out of steam. While opponents packed several previous commission meetings on the condo issue, this time only a handful of people showed up to express their reservations, among them Michael Brandon, an officer of the North Cambridge Stabilization Committee, another neighborhood association.

As he has in the past, Brandon said the project "from an historical and architectural view is completely inappropriate," adding that he was not persuaded that the church's promises on access to the garden and maintenance of the sanctuary were "protective of the public." One Beech Street residen said, "I don't think it fits in with the neighborhood," while another audience member objected that the city would be disregarding its "cultural heritage" by approving the development.

The commission was undeterred, with one member, architect Frank Shirley, saying he thought the courtyard would be a "lovely space if well maintained," although he did express some reservations about the building's proposed exterior finishes, which he called "a little heavy, a little rough" and a plan to install low-lying vegetation around the perimeter of the sanctuary and the new structure, which he thought would make upkeep difficult. He said the commission might want to reconsider that aspect of the proposed master landscape plan, saying, "I think it's a significant flaw in the design."

Church Offers Assurances on Sanctuary Protection and Public Use of Garden

The vote was the culmination of a process that also involved a decision by the Cambridge Planning Commission last December to conditionally approve a special permit for the project, with the understanding that the final OK would be up to both the city and state historical commissions. The state has a say because of preservation agreements the church signed in 1987 and 2004 after it received public funds to restore portions of the Romanesque Revival sanctuary. Charles Sullivan, executive director of the city historical commission, said he was waiting to hear from state historical architect Paul Holtz, but "we don't anticipate any surprises" on that end.

In response to concerns the historical commission raised the last time it dealt with the condo development in April, St. James's Senior Warden Mark Yoder sent a letter offering assurances about the use both of income from the condo sales and the garden. Church representatives have estimated that the partnership with Oaktree will be worth about $3 million, with $2 million representing the value of a new parish house containing offices, classrooms and a library and a $1 million direct payout after most of the condos are sold.

Yoder's letter said the church vestry had voted to establish a special fund for St. James's share of the condo proceeds, with one-third of the money put toward the creation of a property endowment, one-third used for the immediate upkeep needs of the sanctuary and "up to" one-third for operating expenses, with the balance applied to the other two uses if there is money left over. Just to be clear, the church's pastor, the Rev. Holly Lyman Antolini told the commissioners that "100 percent" of the money from the condo sales would be used for the sanctuary in one form or another.

On the subject of access to the courtyard/garden, the letter said the church was committed to a landscape design that "includes no physical barrier" to the public and that "St. James's affirms its invitation to the community" to use the space for "reverential or other quiet enjoyment." The church also said it would post the hours members of the public could be use the property, which Antolini anticipated would be dawn to dusk, as it has been with the Knights Garden.

To make sure the garden would not be liable to the establishment of a public easement, the church proposed that it have the right to close off the property to the community for one day a year. Chairman King, who is an attorney, wanted the language refined to reflect that the garden might occasionally be closed both to prevent an easement and for purposes of maintenance. He said that legalisms aside, in the end "we have to have faith" the church will uphold its end of the terms of the agreement.