Chabad Harvard Bids $6 Million

By Danielle J. Kolin and Naveen N. Srivatsa, The Crimson

The Chabad House at Harvard, an Orthodox Jewish center, has placed a $6 million bid to purchase the building at 45 Dunster Street from the Fly Club, according to exchanges on final club e-mail lists obtained by The Crimson.

The Bee Club, which currently leases the space, had already served a notice of termination on their lease to the Fly, according to an individual familiar with the situation. But this week, Bee members have solicited support and donations from many final club members via e-mail.

But the $6 million bid—which the Bee learned about “a few days ago,” according to an e-mail—is more than double the assessed value of the building and land, which the City of Cambridge placed at $2.7 million, according to 2010 property records.

Harvard’s Chabad House, which coordinates outreach to the University’s Jewish community, currently owns a building on Banks Street near Dunster and Mather Houses, which it purchased for $1.5 million in 2003.

Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi, a founder and director of the Chabad House at Harvard, did not return phone calls for comment.

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