Harvard - Allston Campus

Some clubs have closed (1369, House of Blues, Jonathan Swift's, The Idler, Nightstage, Man Ray) but others have opened (Lily Pad, Regattabar, Toad, Lizard Lounge, an expanded Middle East). Neither list is complete. I'm not sure whether the net result is a gain or a loss.

One thing that has definitely declined in Cambridge is the bookstore culture. We've added Lorem Ipsum and Rodney's and Porter Square Books, but we've lost Reading International, Cambridge Booksmith, Barillari Books, WordsWorth, Starr Books, Mandrake Books, The Book Case, Bookcellar Cafe, 100 Flowers Bookstore, Lucy Parsons Books (moved to South End), and probably others that I have forgotten.
 
cden4 said:
For a comparison to the Charlesview proposal, check out these plans for the Max Pak site in Somerville, adjacent to a neighborhood of two-family houses. Note how the park is surrounded by roads, making it feel at least a bit more public than the courtyard in the Charlesview proposal. Also, the plan shows 234 parking spaces for 199 units, a ratio of 1.176. In addition, they are also providing 70 bicycle parking places (50 indoor, 20 outdoor). There will be a Green Line stop adjacent to the development in 2012 or so, and there is already bus service nearby now on both Highland Ave and Broadway.

http://blogs.townonline.com/somerville/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/maxpak.pdf
Click to expand...

The Max Pak site is about 5 acres for 199 units; the current Charlesview is 213 units on about 4.5 acres. The new Charlesview will be 400 units on about seven acres, most of which will be in Brighton Mills So, yes, you could do something akin to Max Pak if you had more land. But where to find such land?

Harvard does not yet own enough contiguous land opposite Brighton Mills to find three more acres; if one were to take three more acres from the parking lot, the remaining stores at Brighton Mills would have little parking; and if one were to propose building lower income housing south of Holton St (on Harvard owned land south of the Brighton Mills parcels) I suspect the neighbors would strongly object.

The greater issue is that the North Allston Strategic Framework, finalized in 2004, posited that 2,400 to 2,800 new residential units were to be built in N. Allston over the next 20 years (2,600 to 3,000 if you include the 213 replacement units for the current Charlesview). Allowing for some number of these to be new Harvard housing, thats probably a minimum of 1,500 new units to be built outside of the Harvard campus confines.

To the extent that one lowers the density (fewer units on the eight acres, or 400 units on more acres) of the new Charlesview, then the BRA, the North Allston community (which helped develop the framework) and Harvard can only find themselves putting even higher density on the remaining parcels, those upon which one could build another 1,000+ new residential units.

Keeping the same density as the new Charlesview, an additional 1,000+ new residential units would require 18 more acres of land be found west of N. Harvard St. between the Mass Pike and Soldiers Field Road. Good luck on that.

IMO, lacking anywhere near the 18 acres, those who love towers would see the banks of the Charles along Soldiers Field Road flanked with them.
 
We've added Lorem Ipsum and Rodney's and Porter Square Books
Click to expand...

Don't forget Raven Used Books on JFK St.

I can't even imagine the number of bookstores that used to exist in Cambridge anyway. It sounds like supersaturation.
 
a few more lost Cambridge bookstores: Canterbury Books, New Words (women's bookstore), House of Sarah. And I read recently that Quantum Books (technical) may close soon as well.
 
cden4 - thanks for mentioning the Max Pak project. It is great to learn more about other projects in the area we can compare to the Charlesview proposal. Do those of you who know more about that project like it?

Stellarfun - To your question "But where to find such land?" there is much more than 18 acres of underused property in North Allston and North Brighton that could be used to expand the Charlesview project and build other housing. This land is both in the Brighton Mills complex, south of Brighton Mills on the other side of Holton St, on the north side of Western Ave across from Brighton Mills, along Birmingham Parkway, and elsewhere. Too bad the BRA supported a handful of zoning variances to allow the self-storage facility under construction on Lincoln St - that was a few more acres that could have been used for housing.
 
North Allston, west of N. Harvard St.

SNAG-01755_allston_sat.jpg


Harvard owned property, west of N. Harvard St.

SNAG-01761_harvard_prop.jpg


Property ownership near Brighton Mills
(Red is Harvard, blue is city, aqua is non-profit, gold is commercial, gray is residential)

SNAG-01762_ownership_map.jpg


Planned site for the new Charlesview

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Sketch of new Charlesview. Property not owned by Harvard marked in red.

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Site plan for new Charlesview

SNAG-01758_charlesview_site.jpg


Site plan showing buildings higher than four floors

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The 2004 North Allston Strategic Framework called for 2600 - 3000 new residential units (including the Charlesview replacement) to be built in N. Allston in the next 20 years. Lets assume that half those units are built west of N. Harvard St., and have 3,000 people living in these units.

> If you maintain the current N. Allston population density of 30 people per acre when siting and building these 1,500 units, you will need 100 acres of land to do that.

> If you apply a population density for the new Charlesview of about 140+ people per acre, you would need 21 acres of land (14 additional to that being used for Charlesview) to build these units.

> If you use a unit density of 57 units per acre (the approximate density of the new Charlesview) you would need 26 acres to build 1,500 units, 19 additional acres beyond what would be used for the new Charlesview.

I don't know how the 2,600 - 3,000 new units (including a new Charlesview) number was derived, but the community seemed to accept it as a key element of the Strategic Framework. For me, there are four possible explanations for this:

1.) The community was naive and poorly informed, and thus readily manipulated by City Hall and the BRA into accepting this housing goal.

2.) The community was idealistic and supportive of the goal, but had never thought through the implications of building this many new units.

3.) The community was cynical, and accepted the new housing number believing that nothing would ever really happen for years.

4.) The community expected (other than for Charlesview) that most of the new units would be built east of N. Harvard St., on Harvard land. (I think Harvard committed to building 700-900 of the 2600-3000 units, which would be used for graduate and Harvard-affiliated housing.)

The new Charlesview project seems completely consistent with the Strategic Framework with regard to size (number of units), and site. The project also appears to be consistent with the Framework with regard to affordability.
 
Some shots from 3/15. These first two are of the park behind the Allston library branch

library in the background

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looking north

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And the next few pictures are looking at the science complex site from the south, specifically from the end of Seattle Street

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that's Charlesview in the distance

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img2461jh1.jpg
 
Wow Charlesview looks depressing. Looks just like a low-rise commieblock, why are the NIMBYs opposing redevelopment into something that looks good for THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD?
 
The current proposal to relocate and expand Charlesview is being opposed because it falls far short of being as good as it could be. Many people believe the project should be improved by:

1) Creating an economically integrated project instead of a segregated one that puts a 100% low-income development on the south side of Western Ave next to our existing neighborhood
2) Increasing homeownership
3) Creating more family-friendly (3+ BR) units
4) Adding more retail space and parkland
5) Designing new development in the context of a plan for the dozens of acres in our neighborhood that will soon be redeveloped
 
The current proposal to relocate and expand Charlesview is being opposed because it falls far short of being as good as it could be.
Click to expand...

Mustn't let the good be the enemy of the perfect...

(The actual enumerated reasons are better, but I wonder if this intro doesn't reveal something about the NIMBY unconscious)

justin
 
Justin,

Could you explain your reference to the "NIMBY unconscious"? I very consciously think this project is not good enough. A better proposal would have strong support from me and many others. Are you suggesting that residents should settle for whatever second-rate proposal a developer might submit?

Harry
 
Frankly yes, you should shut up and accept all the second rate proposals you can get because no developer in their right mind is going to waste something truly spectacular on that neighborhood. I know I sure as hell would never invest in that part of town especially in these market conditions. You people wouldn't know progress if it jumped up and bit you in the ass. Do you realize how freaking lucky you are to have an institution like Harvard willing to invest in your neighborhood? Do you ever stop to think of what Boston would be without Harvard? We would be a desolate backwater; Detroit East would be putting it politely.

How much park space do you people really need anyways? I was under the impression that much of Allston was populated largely by students and single people in their 20's and early 30's like myself. If you think we want park space, we don't. We want a city we can be proud of in 50 years after all the NIMBYs of today are dead and gone.
 
No that is very unfair. I would argue that people in Allston shell out about $4000 in property taxes just for the privilege of living there. They have to obey zoning and if Harvard or anyone wishes to exceed that there should be a major public benefit.
 
The simple fact that Harvard exists should be enough of a benefit for these slobs. Elsewhere in the world people pay a premium to live next to a major research institution(see Providence), here people embrace it as they would a public housing project.
 
No, it wasn't intended to be helpful, in reality there is very little on this board that can be defined as helpful. I apologize for being a bit abrasive but people who are always looking for a handout tick me off beyond belief. The never ending demands from these neighbors are outrageous and they need to realize that a large part of why the cost of living is so high is that they keep yapping about open space and offensively high building heights and thus building new residential units ends up costing more than it is worth. I realize that my extreme pro-development ideas are offensive, but hey, if I want open space I take a ride out to Lenox, I don't turn into a fanatical neighborhood activist with a vendetta against everyone with more money than me.
 
People want to talk about a soft market, or the high cost of zoning regulation, but when all is said and done, it's the notice and comment period requirement in Boston that has killed affordable housing, and this development is a perfect example of how it's happening.
 
kmp, you gotta calm down. I recognize that you feel strongly about your position but you need a less narrow view of this. Do you live in Allston? Are you going to be affected by years of construction throughout your entire neighborhood? Traffic reroutings, dirt and dust everywhere, noise all the time, these are the realities that these people are facing. Calling names and saying that they don't recognize progress is short sighted and childish. These citizens want what we all want, for the city to be a better place to live. Harry was gracious enough to come here and spell out what it is these "NIMBYs", as you call them, are really asking for, things that I think we can all agree on that will make Allston and Boston better places to live.
 
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