Harvard - Allston Campus

[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

Harry, I do have a few minor quibbles with the reasons you enumerated, but my comment was prompted by the attitude from the opening sentence, which attitude I paraphrased. It exhudes an aversion to constructive compromise which strikes me as typical of NIMBYism. The fact that it's an a priori attitude (stated first, after all) which is in apparent contrast with the more reasoned objections that follow led me to assume it's not fully conscious.

justin

 

[stellarfun]

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

Harry, I am not sure what you mean by "as good as it could be".

In the context of North Allston's community leaders agreeing to a 2004 strategic framework calling for 4,000 new residential units to be built in N. Allston over the next 20 years, and for 400 of these units to be built at Brighton Mills, I'm not sure how one could ever reconcile the competing goals and wishes. In fact, you can't. If N. Allston now believes that the 4,000 goal was a mistake, well, go back to City Hall and request that the strategic framework be revised to lower that goal by half, or two thirds, or whatever.

Responding to your points:
1.) The 282 rental units to be built on the Brighton Mills parcel are all rental. These include 213 units replacing a like number at the current Charlesview. So there are 69 new rental units, all affordable. The Telford St. parcel with 118 units has no rentals. I don't believe it is practicable to mix condo ownership and subsidized rentals within the same building. Conceptually, you could convert the Telford St. building to rentals, but I'm not sure that would sit well publicly, and nationwide, there is a clear movement away from building high-rise subsidized public housing (although Charlesview is non-profit, the principle remains).

2.) The Telford St. building will have 118 units, all home-owned. How many more units would you want to see home-owned? All/many/some of the 69 new rental units?

3.) Creating more 3+ bedroom units. The new Charlesview will have 77 three bedroom units, and 41 four bedroom units. Seventeen of the 3 bedroom units will be new; there are no new 4 bedroom units, with only the existing Charlesview 4 bedroom units being replaced. (Of the 3 bedroom total, Telford St. will have 9.)

Most of the new rental units will be 2 bedroom, substantially increasing the number of rental units in this category. Are you in favor of converting some of these rentals or the Telford St units to 3 and 4 bedroom units? To do so, would you reduce the total number of units, or be willing to construct larger buildings (to remain consistent withe the 400 unit goal in the Strategic Framework)?

4.) Adding more retail space and parkland: The new Charlesview will have 3.66 acres (out of a total of 6.9 acres) of open space. How much more parkland do you want? Are you willing to increase building height to provide additional parkland? The new Charlesview will have 11,500 sq ft of retail space. How much more retail space are you seeking, and are you looking for Charlesview (or Harvard on other property it owns) to provide this space?

5.) I think your point here goes back to the North Allston Strategic Framework document. Its unfortunate, but not particularly surprising, that community leaders agreed with the city and the BRA in setting an ambitious goal (4,000 new units) without apparently thinking through how the goal would be achieved and where.

Here are two pictures of Orchard Gardens, a new HOPE VI public housing project in Boston:

Here are three pictures of Maverick Landing, a new HOPE VI public housing project in Boston:

While it is difficult to conclude from the renderings, and without descriptions of the materials that will be used, it does appear that the new Charlesview will look better than these two recently constructed projects.

 

[Harry Mattison]

The North Allston Strategic Framework calls for "2,400 to 2,800 new housing units in North Allston", not 4,000 (page 7). If we want to follow the Framework, lets look at the whole thing, not just this housing number.

This framework expects that west of North Harvard Street there will be:
"heights of up to 35' on the southern side of Western Avenue and a mix of heights on the north side, with further community review of buildings with heights over 35' and an expectation that these taller buildings would offer substantial public benefits such as additional affordable housing and public space." (page 28)
Charlesview is proposing buildings twice this tall on the south side of Western Ave.

The framework also says that there will be a "Holton Street Special Study" to plan the area from the Brighton Mills Shopping Center to the Mass Pike. (page 21)
The community has been asking the BRA for more than 2 years to begin this study.

On the specific points, I don't have simple, short answers to how we should address these issues. For example, I can't give you a # for retail space for the area that Charlesview has proposed to occupy. Here is what the Framework said about Brighton Mills:
"Transform the shopping center, and the area immediately surrounding it, into a pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use, environment that could combine a variety of institutional and other uses with approximately 200,000 square feet of new and existing retail space and approximately 500 units of new mixed-income housing (for both renters and owners), structured parking, and attractive public squares.
Reflect the diverse character of buildings found in North Allston ? ranging from traditional one- to three-family houses to modern research buildings and a deep-rooted industrial tradition ? in the design of new buildings; ensure that new buildings respect the scale and character found along nearby existing residential streets." (page 30)

I think the only way these things can be figured out is with some comprehensive planning for the future of the community. It does seem like creating 11,000 sq ft of retail on 6 acres of Brighton Mills will make it pretty hard to reach the 200,000 sq ft goal.

 

[aquaman]

..."heights of up to 35' on the southern side of Western Avenue and a mix of heights on the north side, with further community review of buildings with heights over 35' and an expectation that these taller buildings would offer substantial public benefits such as additional affordable housing and public space." (page 28)...

I'm not in the real estate, architecture or development business and I have no skin in this game other than my interest, as a resident of the region, in seeing this development be successful and productive. I need someone who knows what the term "public space" means to define it for me.

It strikes me that the neighborhood thinks public space requirements can only be met by putting in lawns and benches and saplings. In my mind, there are any number of different ways a densely built project could provide for ample public space without a single blade of grass. Wouldn't cafes, community centers, retail outlets, theatres, athletic facilities, meeting rooms, etc. all fall under the definition of "public space" provided they were open to the use of the public and not restricted to those who live in the immediate buildings or set off behind an entry gate?

 

[stellarfun]

The North Allston Strategic Framework calls for "2,400 to 2,800 new housing units in North Allston", not 4,000 (page 7). If we want to follow the Framework, lets look at the whole thing, not just this housing number.

This framework expects that west of North Harvard Street there will be:
"heights of up to 35' on the southern side of Western Avenue and a mix of heights on the north side, with further community review of buildings with heights over 35' and an expectation that these taller buildings would offer substantial public benefits such as additional affordable housing and public space." (page 28)
Charlesview is proposing buildings twice this tall on the south side of Western Ave.

The framework also says that there will be a "Holton Street Special Study" to plan the area from the Brighton Mills Shopping Center to the Mass Pike. (page 21)
The community has been asking the BRA for more than 2 years to begin this study.

On the specific points, I don't have simple, short answers to how we should address these issues. For example, I can't give you a # for retail space for the area that Charlesview has proposed to occupy. Here is what the Framework said about Brighton Mills:
"Transform the shopping center, and the area immediately surrounding it, into a pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use, environment that could combine a variety of institutional and other uses with approximately 200,000 square feet of new and existing retail space and approximately 500 units of new mixed-income housing (for both renters and owners), structured parking, and attractive public squares.
Reflect the diverse character of buildings found in North Allston ? ranging from traditional one- to three-family houses to modern research buildings and a deep-rooted industrial tradition ? in the design of new buildings; ensure that new buildings respect the scale and character found along nearby existing residential streets." (page 30)

I think the only way these things can be figured out is with some comprehensive planning for the future of the community. It does seem like creating 11,000 sq ft of retail on 6 acres of Brighton Mills will make it pretty hard to reach the 200,000 sq ft goal.

Harry, thanks for catching my major error on the number of new housing units. My mistake, and I don't know why 4,000 stuck in my head because I had used the correct number in an earlier post.

The North Allston Strategic Framework is full of conundrums. I've excerpted and combined some relevant sections from the Framework below, with a few comments (in bold):

Housing

In general, it has been estimated that North Allston can accommodate up to 2,400-2,800 new housing units. The goal of this plan is to try to achieve this level of housing development in the area within the plan's timeframe of 20 or more years. New housing would also be in addition to the enhancement, or possible redevelopment, of Charlesview, a large affordable development located in North Allston. [Charlesview currently has 213 units.]

Community housing built by Harvard and private developers may reach between 400 and 800 units. Community housing built by Harvard will be created in tandem with institutional development, thereby mitigating the impacts of Harvard?s expansion on the
neighborhood?s housing market. It is anticipated that most of the Harvard-affiliate housing to be created in North Allston will satisfy the demand created by students, faculty, and staff associated with the new campus.

Comment: The total new units, including Charlesview, would be 2,600 ? 3,000 units, with Harvard responsible for between 400 and 800 of these. (The Harvard units would be for graduate students, Harvard faculty, and university staff, including those working in the developed North Allston campus.) The only area identified in the Composite Land Use Approach chart (p. 15 of the Framework pdf) for new non-Harvard housing appears to be what now will be an expanded park near the city library on N. Harvard street.

The Framework thus envisions about 2,000 new units of housing being built by entities other than Harvard, not counting the Charlesview replacement units. The additional new housing proposed for Charlesview would be about 10 percent of the community goal, leaving 90 percent for future sites which are limited in size and capacity, unless one builds vertically.

Specifications:
Match the scale of the new residential blocks and development to that of the housing found along abutting neighborhood streets, with transitions to taller buildings at Western Avenue and east of North Harvard Street

Plan and design housing that enhances the quality and character of North Allston by respecting the scale and housing types found in the existing neighborhoods and by locating higher-density housing away from those neighborhoods to the east of North Harvard Street and to the north of Western Avenue.

The new housing units will include a mixture of types for both ownership and rental, with a goal of 20% affordable to households at 80% of the Boston median income or below and a substantial proportion affordable to middleincome households (up to 120% of median income).

Comment: 20 percent of the new home ownership units for Charlesview are to be affordable. The higher density goal east of N. Harvard St. is set for Harvard-owned property for its new campus, on which Harvard will build 400-800 units. The rental buildings of Charlesview which would abut existing residential housing are of similar height to this housing.

Affordability

The demographic and housing profile of North Allston revealed by census and economic data shows the need for an affordable housing strategy with a mix of approaches to contribute to neighborhood stability. With a high percentage of renters, substantial turnover in rental households, and average household income insufficient for the purchase of the median-price single-family home or payment of typical rent for a two-bedroom apartment, North Allston?s housing market remains vulnerable to upward price pressure.

Brighton Mills
Transform the shopping center, and the area immediately surrounding it, into a pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use, environment that could combine a variety of institutional and other uses with approximately 200,000 square feet of new and existing retail space and approximately 500 units of new mixed-income housing (for both renters and owners), structured parking, and attractive public squares.

Comment: I?m guessing that Shaw?s, Petco, and any other retail left in Brighton Mills probably are about 60-70,000 sq ft., so another 100,000+ sq ft to go. (The K-Mart was 70,000 sq ft.)

Specifications:
Thus, west of North Harvard Street the Framework envisions heights of up to 35' on the southern side of Western Avenue and a mix of heights on the north side, with further community review of buildings with heights over 35' and an expectation that these taller buildings would offer substantial public benefits such as additional affordable housing and public space. To the east of North Harvard Street, building heights of 55-95' would be permitted, with taller buildings based on further community review and commensurate benefits.

Comment: Taller buildings are not precluded. The renderings in the Strategic Framework show buildings south of Western Ave., in Brighton Mills which are significantly taller than 35 feet.

 

[palindrome]

Residents want more time to comment
By Elana Zak, Correspondent
Thu Mar 27, 2008, 11:37 AM EDT

Allston-Brighton - The Boston Redevelopment Authority reassured Allston residents this week that their input is wanted regarding Harvard University; they will not be rushed in making decisions, said Gerald Autler, senior project manager and planner for the BRA.

?We do want your scoping,? Autler said at the Harvard-Allston community task force meeting Wednesday, March 26. ?I don?t want to be in the position again of rushing to the community benefits process.?

The meeting marked the first time this year that the task force discussed Harvard?s Institutional Master Plan. The master plan is a detailed framework that shows how Harvard plans to expand in Allston over the next 50 years. The plan features no substantial changes from what was filed last year, but the task force, which had focused its discussions for the past months primarily on Harvard?s Science complex, is now beginning detailed discussion of the full plan.

Scoping is a process whereby residents and task force members send in their recommendations and a formal document listing these suggestions will be sent to Harvard. The idea is that Harvard will implement some of these changes into their master plan so that residents are happy with the changes being done in their neighborhood.

?What?s important is that Harvard gets the campus they want,? said Bruce Houghton, a task force member. ?The campus is not for the benefit of the neighborhood.?

Some were not thrilled with the master plan presentation. Jake Carman, an Allston resident, expressed concern over how retail areas in the neighborhood would be developed. He also mentioned that he felt Harvard and the BRA were not listening to the residents.

?I don?t want to see Barry?s Corner turned into Harvard Square because there?s nothing there for me,? he said. ?This is supposed to be a partnership. They should be listening to us.?

Task force member Brent Whelan expressed concern over the fact that he felt rushed to make recommendations after Autler said he wanted comments to be sent in by next month. Autler, however, said numerous times during the meeting that the scoping was the beginning of the process and there was no rush. Both BRA and Harvard officials stressed that the master plan is a work in progress and subject to change.

Another topic at the meeting was the formation of Citizens Advisory Committee. The CAC, which was suggested by the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act office, would be composed of the existing Harvard-Allston Task Force as well as four other members appointed by the Ian Bowles, the secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. The committee would help Bowles assess Harvard?s submissions to MEPA.

?We?re looking at the bigger picture?s environmental impacts,? said Briony Angus, MEPA?s representative at the meeting. ?We?re looking at traffic to storm water to air quality.?

Task force members seemed a little overwhelmed by the knowledge that they would be participating in yet another committee. While Angus could not say what the exact time commitment would be, she reassured the task force that they still had a lot of time before a CAC meeting would take place.

?My questions is, really, are you serious? We all have day jobs,? said Whelan, summing up many of the task force members? feelings.

Feedback wanted
Comments on Harvard?s Institutional Master plan are due by April 25. Comments can be sent to Gerald Autler at Gerald.autler.bra@cityofboston.gov, or mailed to 1 City Hall Square, Boston, MA 02201.

http://www.wickedlocal.com/allston/homepage/x899760379

I just wanted to post this to show the bolded quote.

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

He also mentioned that he felt Harvard and the BRA were not listening to the residents.

If all the residents want different things how are these institutions supposed to know what to listen to? This is such a clusterfuck.

What would TRULY be useful is for the BRA or some other organization/agency/etc to present to neighborhoods a "Planning Primer" of sorts, explaining the relationships between density, design, transportation, open space, etc, and give examples from Boston and elsewhere to show people what's been done and why.

This is from the "Two Things People Hate" thread and I think shows what should be going on in Allston, I mean considering that Harvard does have a school for Urban Planning/Design.

 

[Ron Newman]

There's nothing at all in Barry's Corner right now, so anything would be an improvement.

 

[kz1000ps]

There's so much nothing at Barry's Corner that you can't even find an actual corner.

 

[stellarfun]

I will agree with the Allstonites that the 20 year portion of Harvard's long-range plan for North Allston ought to address what potential development and land use it foresees for the properties it already owns and is likely to acquire west of Barry's Corner.

Pro bono, I'll offer my ideas below.

To start, I would reduce the goal for new housing units in N. Allston from about 2,000 - 2,200 (exclusive of the units Harvard will be build as Harvard housing) to 1,000 or so, including the 213 replacement units for Charlesview. Even a 1,000 new units will result in buildings 5 or 6 stories in height.

Second, I would cut the retail square footage from the 200,000 sq ft goal to a goal between 100,000 and 125,000 sq ft. (This includes existing retail, particularly Shaws and Petco. With Arsenal Mall and Watertown Mall a very short drive away, I think N. Allston ought to abandon any idea of becoming a shopping destination.

Here is Barry's Corner. Harvard-owned property lined in red. The edge of current Charlesview in yellow.

^^^The building marked Bus School I would demolish and move the activities therein to a new HBS building, or to Harvard's 30 acres of property in the Watertown Arsenal. In its place, I would build a mixed use building, retail on the first floor, apartments on 4 or 5 floors above. I would also use the site where the new museum facility was planned as a mixed use building, similar to the HBS building. The museum facility I would put between the current Business School and Charlesview on the east side of N. Harvard St. On the quasi-pentagon plot of land on the east side of Barry's Corner I would build a retail and commercial office building.

The playing fields / playground owned by the City of Boston, maintained by Harvard.

^^^^WBZ studios lined in purple. Where the white-roofed buildings are, Harvard intends building a new hockey rink, basketball arena, and swimming pool.

I'd do a land swap for the playing fields, or at a minimum the southern half of them. The two or three smaller-sized fields I'd move to the western part of Western Ave. For the other larger fields (assuming I took the whole playground) one possible location is the WBZ studio parcel. I'd convert the current playground to residential buildings. The Harvard-owned parcel to the left, I'd build a mixed use building similar to the Business School parcel across the street.

The WBZ studios in yellow. Boston Skating Club in purple.

^^^ I'd convert the WBZ studios into recreation space. Potentially, this might be a future site for the Boston Skating Club rink.

The Boston Skating Club, and the Days Motel on its immediate right.

^^^ Build residential buildings on the Skasting Club property. If the Skating Club is not moved to the WBZ property, I'd move it to Harvard's property at the Watertown Arsenal. There looks to be a bit of space there.

Property north of Brighton Mills. Property still in private hands lined in purple. The condo portion of Charlesview is upper right. The rental part of Charlesview is largely in the wester-most buildings and part of the parking lot south of Western Ave.

^^^ I would build a mixed use building... retail on first floor, commercial or residential on the upper floors on the Harvard owned property. Further west, I would build low-rise residential properties.

The Olmstead stables at the western end of Western Ave.

^^^I'd renovate and restore the stables, and the land to the east, including owned by the state (or MDC?) I'd convert into a recreation area to help make up for the playground lost near Barry's Corner.

The Harvard owned properties between Western Ave at Brighton Mills down to the Mass Pike.

The Harvard owned property at the Watertown Arsenal. This was bought several years ago. 30 acres and 750,000 sq ft of building space.

 

[jass]

My problem with this campus would be as a student. How the hell would one be expected to walk around this enormous area every day?

Harvard needs their own monorail system

 

[Ron Newman]

Does WBZ want to move? I can't see forcing them out if they're happy there. Also, it doesn't make sense to split part of the Business School out to Watertown.

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

That can be for the Harvard Small Business School.

 

[stellarfun]

Does WBZ want to move? I can't see forcing them out if they're happy there. Also, it doesn't make sense to split part of the Business School out to Watertown.

On WBZ, hearsay rumors have it that WBZ is having / has had discussions with Harvard on a land swap. If the pot is sweetened enough....
__________________________________________

The B-school under the master plan gets 8 or 9 new buildings and 500,000 sq ft of additional space in the next 20 years under the master plan. These buildings would be built between the current south boundary of the B school down to Western Ave east of the former WGBH building.

Thus, functions at the existing B-school building at Barry's Corner could be moved either to this expanded Allston campus down the street, or over to Watertown, where the B school already uses 150,000 sq ft for administrative & publishing functions.

(Also in the next 20 years, the School of Public Health gets three or four new buildings and 575,000 sq ft of space on the north side of Western Ave east from where the Charlesview now is up to about the former WGBH building. The Graduate School of Education gets three new buildings and 300,000 sq ft of space south of the existing B school on N. Harvard St. up to the current Charlesview property lines. South of the Graduate School of Education and west of Public Health would be museums and cultural buildings in a pie-shaped plot built on the footprint of the current Charlesview, and forming the northeast corner of Barry's Corner).
_____________________________
I believe Harvard envisions that all the academic space to be built in North Allston will be for graduate schools and programs. There is to be new undergraduate housing built along the river north of Harvard Stadium where the rink, pool, and basketball arena are now. This new undergraduate housing would allow Harvard to convert the Quad (way northwest of Harvard Yard) residences from undergraduate to graduate student housing.

 

[Scott]

http://www.wickedlocal.com/allston/town_info/history/x79615925

Remembering Old Allston-Brighton: Battle to save Barry's Corner
By Bill Marchione/Brighton-Allston Historical Society
Fri Mar 28, 2008, 08:33 AM EDT
ALLSTON-BRIGHTON -


ALLSTON-BRIGHTON - On Feb. 16, 2008, historian Jim Vrabel interviewed Bernard Redgate, whose mother, Marjorie Redgate, led the Barry?s Corner neighborhood in its unsuccessful battle in the 1960s to stop the BRA from demolishing North Allston?s Barry?s Corner neighborhood. This neighborhood, consisting of more than 50 houses, stood on the site now occupied by Charlesview Apartments at the corner of North Beacon Street and Western Avenue in North Allston.

James Vrabel, a distinguished Boston historian, the author of ?When in Boston: A Time Line and Almanac,? is currently working on a history of urban renewal in Boston. Both interviewer and interviewee gave their permission to publish these excerpts from this interesting and insightful interview. A second installment will appear in this column next week.

Jim Vrabel: When did your parents move to North Harvard Street and what was their background?

Bernard Redgate: My parents bought their house at 162 Harvard Street in 1944. They moved there from Somerville, and had both grown up in Charlestown. They bought the store two years later.

JV: How did residents of the North Harvard Street area first learn about the urban renewal proposal?

BR: At first, all we knew was that there were strange people around on occasion (in the summer of 1961), but we didn?t know what they were doing there. Some people thought that the road was being widened. It wasn?t until a story ran on the Channel 4 news (in October 1961) that we knew for sure what the plan was. But we thought that this was so blatantly wrong that it couldn?t happen ? That just couldn?t happen.

JV: What was it like trying to get organized to oppose the urban renewal plan?

BR: I was in college at the time, and helping to organize the neighborhood was fun. I think there were only about 20 or 30 people at that first meeting, at the Hill Memorial Baptist Church. We really didn?t learn about what had happened in the West End until after we were attacked.

JV: Was there an overriding philosophy that drove the residents?

BR: The group was actually pretty conservative. At first, they called themselves ?Citizens for Private Property.? It was more about its being wrong to take people?s property than the ?WE love our neighborhood aspect.?

JV: How did your mother come to be the leader of the residents? opposition?

BR: My mother had a big advantage because she ran the store (the Ready Luncheonette at 164 North Harvard St.). She had day-to-day contact with everyone, so she was able to ? I guess you?d say ?preach.? My father used to call her ?the battler,? and he encouraged her. He wouldn?t be out front, but he?d be right behind her. It didn?t come naturally to my mother, especially getting up and speaking in public. She was only a high school graduate.

JV: Didn?t you have some kind of system to warn residents when the city inspectors came out?

BR: We had a truck horn connected to the leads from a car battery that we mounted on a cart, and we would sound it as we rolled it through the neighborhood if a stranger was spotted, letting everyone know that we were being invaded.

JV: Did you get much support from other residents of Allston-Brighton?

BR: We didn?t really have any support from the rest of the neighborhood like people in other urban renewal neighborhoods did. I guess part of the reason was that we were kind of separated geographically. Some people from the larger neighborhood came out, but I think they were told to be silent.?


Oral history: share your memories

We urge any reader who has recollections of Allston-Brighton, whether they be remote in time or of more recent origin, to share them with the general public through this column.

This can be done in two ways, either by e-mailing local historian Bill Marchione at wpmarchione@rcn.com or by phoning him at 617-782-8483 to schedule a formal taped interview.

Help the Historical Society

If you have photos of old Brighton-Allston in your family photo albums, please consider allowing the Brighton-Allston Historical Society to copy them for possible display at the Brighton-Allston Heritage Museum and/or in this column. If you have photos you would like to donate, or would be willing to have the Historical Society copy, please contact Bill Marchione at 617-782-8483.

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

I think the problem here is not that Harvard wants to rebuild Allston but it is how they are doing it. If Harvard did it building by building, one at a time, one block at a time, over 20 years, I think that people wouldn't be as defensive. Development over a period of time, rather than all at once, would let everyone see how the neighborhood was shaping up and if there were any problems that were unforeseen. If you build it all at once all your problems come up immediately and you are forced to spend even more money and time fixing them.

Also slow development allows for slower change which isn't as scary or as intrusive. The residents fear that this new development will change the area dramatically, so much that they will not be able to afford to live there, and a development at large scale will do that. Another plus to piece meal development is that all the buildings don't end up looking the same so you actually get a neighborhood that feels unique and interesting. If you build all the buildings at once it isn't very pleasant to walk down the street.

It is sexy to have a huge master plan but as we all know master plans leave a lot out and you usually can't see their down sides until after they are built.

 

[Scott]

People are not quick to believe you are going to do wonderful things and save them from the blight when your own property has been such a shambles for so many years. Harvard also has a huge image problem because of the way they acquired some of this land, the way they have dealt with some neighbors in Cambridge in the past and that, of course this all seems so pie-in-the-sky like the Urban Ring.

btw-If Harvard isn't going to get out in front of the Urban Ring and will wait for the T to pay for it they may wait longer than 50 years.

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

Harvard and BU need to get together and work on the Urban Ring since they are stand to gain the most from in. But of course they won't, no one plays together in Boston which is why we can't get anything done.

 

[Scott]

Oh and here is the picture that came with the article:

Brighton-Allston Historical Society

 

[palindrome]

they look like a happy bunch.