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Harvard Square’s retail offerings have drastically shifted in recent years, but Curious George will be sticking around.
New York real estate firm Equity One bought 1 John F. Kennedy St. and surrounding buildings for $85M in 2016 and announced plans to redevlop the cluster into “The Harvard Collection,” an indoor mall. Regency Centers, which acquired Equity One earlier this year, announced revised plans for the development will now allow The Curious George Store to stay in a new location, the Boston Globe reports. The move from the store’s perch at JFK and Brattle Streets is expected to happen in 2019.
The store at 1 JFK St. faced an uncertain future last year while other longtime Harvard Square tenants like Crimson Corner and Out of Town News were either closing or fighting eviction.
Margaret and H.A. Rey, the authors of the Curious George children’s books, were longtime Cambridge residents. The store opened in 1996 and has since sold a variety of merchandise tied to the book’s namesake character. Current owner Adam Hirsch took over in 2011 and previously supported community efforts to save the store.
The Harvard Square Business Association, the Harvard Square Neighborhood Association and other community groups voiced concerns of the shifting character of the neighborhood from mom-and-pop retailers into one of multiple banks and pharmacies.
“Curious George is rooted in Harvard Square and has a long history here, and we’re thrilled to be able to keep it going,” Hirsch told the Globe.
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