Harvard - Allston Campus

[stellarfun]

Hi Stellarfun,

Sorry to hear to you are saddened by the Task Force's letter. I hope you'd agree that having one month to get consensus from a dozen people about something this complicated is not an easy task.

Did you submit a letter to the BRA about the Harvard IMPNF? Your comments (beyond criticism of other people's comments) might add something constructive.
...........

Harry, sorry, I've been traveling and missed your post above until today.

I did send an email to the BRA earlier this week on the draft IMP. My main points were that:

A.) The IMP was too insular, and needed to reflect the effect on Allston of Harvard's plans for the major renovation of its Cambridge undergraduate residence houses, the renovation and expansion of Fogg/Busch/Sackler, and the future role and function of its Watertown Arsenal operations (with respect to N. Allston).

B.) The IMP should include alternatives that covered Harvard owning and developing all non-government land north of Western Ave and west of North Harvard St; Harvard buying the remainder of the so-called keystone block, east of Barry's corner; somebody acquiring and developing the 8 or 9 houses on N. Harvard and Franklin Sts SW of Barry's Corner, and the gas station in the center of Barry's Corner; and relocating some/all of the Smith playing fields to elsewhere in N. Allston and constructing mixed-use building(s) on that site (to bring greater density to Barry's Corner).

C. The IMP should address the developing confluence of Harvard, BU, and MIT in Allston Landing. Their property lines now basically abut, and I expect by 2025 that Cambridgeport and N. Allston are going to form the axis of a larger two-city neighborhood. (IMO, it is this confluence that will be the main driver transforming N. Allston. Aside from the IMP, I suggested that Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Watertown, MIT, Harvard, BU, the MTA, the MBTA, and the Commonwealth needed to get together and develop a framework to guide future development in the larger area.)

D. The IMP summarize the change in neighborhood demographics and housing that is occurring in Cambridgeport and near the SE side of Harvard's Cambridge campus as future indicators of what might happen in N. Allston; and include a current demographic, economic, and housing profile of N. Allston.

I offered no comments re: additional new non-university housing, but did opine that filling 200,000 sq ft of community-oriented retail in Barry's Corner would be a challenge, given the proximity of the arsenal malls.
_____________________
Two side notes:
With Harvard probably going to spend $300-400 million on Fogg, that may mean that any new museum for the culture quadrant of Barry's Corner is a long ways off.

If Harvard were not to build new athletic arenas in the NW quadrant of Barry's Corner (and clearly there is space to build those elsewhere nearer the stadium) what would the community suggest that Harvard build there instead? I don't think residential would be attractive, given it would be adjacent to 4 or 5 public ball fields. Too much noise. And given the recent recruiting 'scandal' in men's basketball, it would appear that Harvard is serious about upgrading that program, so the crowds for hoops may equal or surpass those for hockey. I agree that swimming is not a big draw.

 

[skintreesnail]

I didn't see this posted anywhere, but I could be wrong. This pdf of Harvard's Allston Science Complex can be found on the BRA site:

http://www.cityofboston.gov/bra/pdf/documents/harvard%20science%20coop%20fact%20sheet.pdf

 

[stellarfun]

I didn't see this posted anywhere, but I could be wrong. This pdf of Harvard's Allston Science Complex can be found on the BRA site:

http://www.cityofboston.gov/bra/pdf/documents/harvard science coop fact sheet.pdf

That ^ summarizes the community benefits package that was agreed to by Harvard and the city. A fairly extensive list of documents related to the Allston campus can be found here:

http://www.cityofboston.gov/bra/planning/PlanningInitsIndividual.asp?action=ViewInit&InitID=115

They have yet to have an official groundbreaking ceremony for the science complex, although construction is well underway. One can speculate why this has not happened; my speculation for the moment is that they are waiting for the mockups to be done.

Installation of HVAC piping, insulation and controls will be performed for the laboratory mock-up located in the building at 125 Western Avenue.

Forming and concrete pouring activities will be performed for the foundation slab of the exterior structural mock-up located in the northeast corner of the 125 Western Avenue parking lot.

From Harvard's weekly construction mitigation report.

 

[stellarfun]

The difference between Allston and Cambridge is perhaps underscored by the red brick low-rise that Harvard is building for graduate students along Memorial Drive. Similarly scaled buildings proposed along the south side of Western Ave. at Brighton Mills for the new Charlesview are deemed by some Allstonites to be too tall for the neighborhood.

 

[Harry Mattison]

stellarfun,

It seems like you can't pass up an opportunity to take a jab at Allston and Brighton residents. The Charlesview proposal has many problems that have nothing to do with the height of the buildings. What do you think about the Scoping Determination?

There are a lot of differences between the built environment in Riverside and North Brighton, so the relevance of the comparison is not particularly clear. Also, the people in Riverside stopped Harvard from doing anything on that site for several years. We both know that nothing like that has been attempted by anyone in Allston or Brighton.

Harry

 

[stellarfun]

stellarfun,

It seems like you can't pass up an opportunity to take a jab at Allston and Brighton residents. The Charlesview proposal has many problems that have nothing to do with the height of the buildings. What do you think about the Scoping Determination?

There are a lot of differences between the built environment in Riverside and North Brighton, so the relevance of the comparison is not particularly clear. Also, the people in Riverside stopped Harvard from doing anything on that site for several years. We both know that nothing like that has been attempted by anyone in Allston or Brighton.

Harry

Harry, IMO the scoping document is as conflicted as the community. And by conflicted, I mean there are too many masters (objectives) trying to be served. As for height and scale,

The density must be mitigated....Many of the letters received...have stated that the current proposal is out of scale with the surroundings.

from pdf p. 4 of the scoping document. (Unfortunately, the pdf is an image pdf so one can't readily copy and paste the text.)

The scoping document asks the proponent to:

> help create a broad band of public park from the Charles River to south of Brighton Mills, a park that is analogous to the Greenway.
> help create a public square at Western Ave and Telford St with street level retail, civic, cultural activities (on all four corners) with residential above. [This seems to assume that the Boston Skating Club will relocate.]
> provide new neighborhood parks.
> create views of the Charles River from Western Ave and south of Western Ave. [Though you really can't see the river now even if there were no obstructing buildings, and I think the angle of sight geometry precludes being able to see it from Brighton Mills unless you introduce height.]
> step down the height of buildings closer to the river.

The scoping document does not reference the 2,400 - 2,800 new housing units that are supposed to be built in North Allston over the next 20 years, nor does it ask the proponent to examine how and if the proposed density and scale of its project comports with the housing objective. IMO, that's the crux of the problem: you can't squeeze all this new housing plus all this additional open space (including new streets and a new street grid) into the available land area without density and height. Something has to give

So reading between the lines, I'd guess the initially proposed density and scale will pretty much be accepted. The scoping document suggests that heights along Comm Ave in Allston are appropriate models.

Here are three Google street views of the 1100 and 1200 Comm Ave streetscape, near Harvard St. in Allston.

The scoping document also emphasizes that the developer needs to demonstrate and ensure there will be adequate future funds for upkeep and maintenance of the rental units (I suspect most specifically, the 213 replacement units for the current Charlesview).

The breakout of the 400 proposed units is:
213 replacement for like number at current Charlesview; all rental
79 mew rental units
24 affordable condos (for sale)
94 market rate condos (for sale)

As the developer is a non-profit, the financial calculus is basically how many market rate condos do they need to build and sell to subsidize the construction of the 24 affordable condos and future maintenance of the 282 rental units? I suppose they could drop the 79 new rentals, and thus reduce the number of market rate condos. This would result in a smaller scale development, but would also represent a pulling back from the goal of 2,400 -- 2,800 new housing units in N. Allston.

 

[stellarfun]

No neo-Georgian brick for Allston. No Harvard Yard landscaping either.

Excerpted from Harvard Design magazine.

The making of the Harvard Allston Science Complex is an exercise in ?integrated design.?3 The project's commitment to sustainability mandates a comprehensive approach to design advocated by Behnisch Architekten, its designers. Climate engineers strategize the energy performance of the whole and are necessarily informed by HVAC engineers and lighting consultants. Civil engineers work with the utility team and landscape architects to develop storm-water management plans and then coordinate with structural engineers for assessing the weight loads of plantings, proper soil attributes, and means of storing water.

For example, energy goals led to a certain selection of building materials and assembly of building parts. For the Allston Science Complex, traditional brick walls, because of their inability to perform like a breathing skin, were early seen to be incompatible with sustainability, and this rapidly concluded years of debate about whether the new buildings should replicate (as many hoped) Harvard's neo-Georgian architecture. The facades of the Complex adapt to specific conditions: solar orientation, landscape design, buildings' proximity and massing, and performance requirements. The facade grid is modified and varied for lighting, views from within, and thermal requirements. The building skin system has movable parts for ventilation and sun-shading; light shelves direct light deep into laboratory spaces. Such responses to standards limiting demand on water and energy have been embraced and constantly updated in Europe. And in fact the Science Complex will be incorporating construction methodologies popular in Europe.

Mechanical penthouses for the Complex could make up as much as one-third of the buildings' volume. The needs for underground infrastructure are as demanding. Almost the entire ground surface sits on a structure providing a parking garage, loading facilities, distributed energy facilities, and shared science resources. Even though 50% of the site is open space, in the Harvard campus tradition, it will be a highly engineered landscape.

One key step in the campus development is providing sustainable infrastructure and utility systems. For example, siting geothermal wells and ground-source heat pumps (which use the earth as either a pre-heat source, when operating in heating mode, or a heat sink, when operating in cooling mode) will require the allocation of land that will impact building and site design. Another example in utility planning is water management with the goal of improving runoff water quality and protecting the Charles River. Comprehensive measures are being adopted to reduce the volume and flow of storm water discharges into the river, to treat storm water runoff, and to meet at least 50% of water demand for buildings and site elements using non-potable water, like landscape irrigation, with locally recycled water. All these require space for treatment and storage facilities. Consequently, about one-third of the Complex's open space is dedicated to water management; this creates a ?working landscape.? Steve Stimson and Associates, landscape architects, initially received conflicting directions to investigate Harvard Yard as an aesthetic model and to implement sustainable water management features like bioswales (designed to remove silt and pollution from surface runoff water), rain gardens (planted depressions designed to absorb runoff), and drought-resistant native plants?all of which would preclude a Harvard Yard look.

Traditionalists expect that the Allston campus landscape design will provide a continuous ground uniting the parts of the extended campus in a dominant simple open space. But that ground will need to be broken into working landscapes and recreational or ceremonial landscapes. A lawn in the tradition of Harvard Yard is planned, but it becomes something exceptional among rain gardens, bioswales, and retention ponds.

Hybrid cooling towers are being considered for the Science Complex to reduce demand for water. Traditional cooling towers expose water directly to the air, creating a visible plume of water vapor and requiring replacement water. Hybrids keep the cooling water contained and use additional water only during hot periods, thus greatly reducing water use. Hybrids also produce less noise. The drawbacks of using hybrids are that they are larger than conventional cooling towers and, in the case of the Science Complex, can increase penthouse height by as much as 20%.

The Machine as Garden
The New Harvard Campus in Allston, Sustainability, and Its Effects on Design

by Nathalie Beauvais

http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/research/publications/hdm/current/28_Beauvais.html

 

[briv]

From The Allston-Brighton Tab:

City asks Charlesview developers to review density

By John Ciampa, Correspondent

Wed May 21, 2008, 11:51 AM EDT



Allston-Brighton - What?s next

Community Builders Inc. must now review the report and consider its recommendations before returning with a revised proposal called a Draft Project Impact Report, as required under the city?s zoning code. A public meeting will be scheduled following the DPIR?s release, in addition to a new, 45-day comment period that will allow further public input.

With the release of the Boston Redevelopment Authority?s scoping determination, a 206-page document brimming with public commentary, the Charlesview Redevelopment Project has completed yet another step in the city?s zoning approval process.
But considering the number of criticisms expressed in the report, it?s a step that appears to be headed in the wrong direction.
At least that was the consensus coming from the dozens of letters submitted by officials and residents to the BRA, which issued the report on April 25 to both the public and the Community Builders Inc., a nonprofit development firm specializing in affordable projects and tasked with the relocation and rebuilding of the Charlesview apartment complex.
Charlesview currently sits on the 5 acres of land acquired by Harvard University in a land swap deal struck with the city in 2006.
Though planning for the new Charlesview has been less than a year in the works, the new development ? a 400-unit mixed-income complex slated for the Brighton Mills shopping area ? has already been bogged down in public discontent, as reflected in numerous meetings since the housing proposal was initially filed in February.
?Too dense,? was the complaint most often heard during subsequent meetings, and not surprisingly, most often reiterated in the BRA?s report, but others charged the project?s failure to adequately address concerns about parking, traffic, building heights, and a housing mixture that some regard as ?unfriendly? to families.


The project
As for the project itself, the developer is proposing to relocate and reconstruct the current 213-unit Charlesview from its present location near the corner of Western Avenue and North Harvard Street to a pair of new parcels ? 6.2 acres at Brighton Mills and an additional .7-acre area situated between Telford Street, Western Avenue and Soldiers Field Road.


Transportation concerns
In one of the letters sent to the BRA, the Boston Transportation Department listed several concerns relating to parking and traffic, in particular how the latter will affect the number of vehicles emptying into nearby Western Avenue.
The BTD has also asked for a detailed analysis of how that traffic may affect a number of intersections ? 12 in all ? in the vicinity of the proposed development.


Unfriendly to families
Elsewhere, Boston City Councilor Michael Flaherty noted that of the 187 new apartments slated for Charlesview, only 17 are three-bedroom units, which he contends will limit the addition of more families to the neighborhood.
Flaherty said the proposal set forth by Community Builders Inc. is reflective of a what he feels has become a negative trend in new developments across Boston and its surrounding boroughs ? a focus on more marketable one- and two-bedroom units at the expense of three-bedroom ones.
?To me, attracting and retaining families is key for the future of our city,? he said. ?Families revitalize our schools, they revitalize our city, and projects like this have an opportunity to bolster that demographic.?
Flaherty also cited a need for an increase in homeownership opportunities, a sentiment echoed by several other respondents. As with the present development, plans for the new Charlesview call for only rental units.


Resident urges preference to A-B residents
In another letter submitted to the BRA, Lake Street resident Alex Selvig went a step further than Flaherty by stating that four-bedroom units would also enhance the project, in addition to the developer finding a ?creative means? of financing the purchase of those units with preference given to Allston-Brighton residents.


Project well-received, current plan criticized
Though many letters in the report came across in support of the redevelopment project as a whole, few expressed enthusiasm for the current plan.
But Ray Mellone, chairman of the Harvard Allston Task Force, a 16-member residential and civic group appointed by Mayor Thomas Menino to provide feedback to university-related projects, said Community Builders Inc. is willing to address public concern as the project moves forward.
?I get the sense that they?re willing to redraw it to fit the needs of the community,? he said.


Community Builders Inc. reacts
Felicia Jacques, director of development for Community Builders Inc., could not be reached for comment, but did issue the following statement: ?The development team is reviewing all comments, suggestions, and recommendations to the submission as part of the permitting process to ensure that the Charlesview redevelopment fulfills its potential be a catalyst for future growth in the neighborhood.?
Community Builders Inc. must now review the report and consider its recommendations before returning with a revised proposal called a Draft Project Impact Report, as required under the city?s zoning code.


The timeline
BRA spokeswoman Jessica Schumaker said Community Builders Inc. could take as much time as it needs to file the report, but it would be in its best interest to do so quickly. When it does surface, Schumaker agrees with Mellone that it will likely address many of the issues that have been raised.
A public meeting will be scheduled following the DPIR?s release, in addition to a new, 45-day comment period that will allow further public input.

 

[stellarfun]

This is a land ownership map of N. Allston, generally west of N. Harvard St., which is the serpentine street to the right of the parcel marked A. The Mass Pike is just below the southernmost red parcel in the center. (Map adapted from ones prepared by Harry Mattison and the BRA; mistakes if any, are mine.)

Code:
Red - Harvard owned
Green - City's Smith recreation playground, playing fields, etc.
Light Blue - owned by the Commonwealth or city of Boston
Yellow - owned by the Harold Shoher Trust, largest single private landowner other than Harvard along Western Ave.
Brownish red - new Charlesview location
Purple - WBZ studios, which Harvard is negotiating to buy.
BSC - Boston Skating Club
A - proposed site of a Harvard museum building, primarily for conservation and storage, but with a fairly large art gallery.
441 and 385 - two large parcels on Western Ave not yet owned by Harvard.

Several thoughts:
* The rebuilding of the Fogg/Busch/Sackler museums for a few hundred million dollars probably means Harvard wouldn't start on the museum for modern and contemporary art still proposed at Barry's Corner before 2015 or so. As the current Sackler is to be converted to other uses, might it, circa 2013 or 2014, become the building for art conservation and storage, with perhaps a gallery for special exhibitions, and the second museum facility (the A) proposed in Barry's Corner being abandoned?

* If Harvard acquires WBZ, it could potentially reposition the pew athletic venues proposed for the NW quadrant of Barry's Corner northward. In doing so, Harvard might swap some of the WBZ land for part of Smith playground, and move some of Smith's playing fields onto the WBZ property. This would also allow development of the southern part of Smith as a mixed-use building. Alternatively, some of the Smith facilities could be shifted to the property owned by the Commonwealth and Harvard at the western end of Western Ave., where the 'Olmsted' stables are.

* If Harvard were to acquire the Shoher Trust properties, that would reveal its intent to control what gets built along Western Ave in the vicinity of Barry's Corner.

* One option to reduce density on the small Charlesview condos parcels north of Western Ave would be for Harvard to suggest to Charlesview they phase some of the condo construction, and offer the Charlesview developers additional land north of Western Ave. to complete their development at some future date. The implication of lower density for Charlesview is that the new housing units goal for N. Allston -- as set out in the city's strategic framework for N. Allston -- will never be realized.

* My prediction is that Harvard will buy the BSC properties within two years. The deal will happen once BSC has a place to move to.

 

[stellarfun]

Two factoids of potential interest to a few.

From this week's Allston Construction Mitigation notice:

A.) the exterior mockup for the science complex will be at least two stories high; will they go four or five? They will install two stories this week.

B.) Harvard is installing a silt fence at the Harvard athletic fields, which are nowhere near the science complex. Potentially, this indicates Harvard is about to relocate some of the fields south of the stadium to an area NW of the stadium, freeing space to start future construction of new athletic venues along N. Harvard St.

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

We could have had a museum.

 

[stellarfun]

ablarc, you could have fooled me on the gunite. From the picture, I had thought it was wood planking painted gray.

 

[Beton Brut]

Regarding gunite as a building material, here's its first architectural application:

Desert Hot Springs Motel, 1947
John Lautner, architect

An article on the hotel's current sale is here.

 

[kz1000ps]

I found this in Peter Blake's old book, "Form Follows Fiasco." You're looking at the future site of the Charlesview apartments, dating from the late '50s:

The sub-headline reads:
"It is legalized theft of private property. We shall defend our homes with our lives."

 

[kz1000ps]

5/22.. panning from east to west

and workers carrying what had to be a 75-foot section of cabling

 

[stellarfun]

kz, thanks for the pictures. BU's new student village looms tall on the Allston skyline.

 

[stellarfun]

Even the rich borrow:

Harvard plans bond sale to finance its expansion

By Bloomberg News | June 3, 2008

Harvard University plans to sell $125 million of 10-year notes, according to a person familiar with the offering.

The sale may occur as soon as tomorrow, said the person, who declined to be identified because terms aren't set.

The school has detailed a 50-year plan to build 10 million square feet of buildings in Allston, where the Harvard Business School and football stadium are already situated.

Harvard will offer $336 million of bonds to help pay off commercial paper for the acquisition of the Doubletree Guest Suites Boston as part of the expansion, and for building and equipping classrooms. Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service, both in New York, reaffirmed their top respective AAA and Aaa rankings for the school last week.

Harvard's $34.9 billion endowment as of last June 30 was the largest of any college in the United States, returning 23 percent last year.

The school will get $100 million, its biggest alumni gift, from 1936 graduate and retired banker David M. Rockefeller Sr., Harvard said in April.

I think the Doubletree is in the area where Harvard wants to build a conference center.

Harvard has also apparently changed consultants for the IMP. From the Harvard Gazette:

The next step in the IMP planning process is to further refine the master planning framework based on the ideas and suggestions put forward in recent months. Harvard has engaged Ayers Saint Gross, a Baltimore-based campus planning and design firm, to help refine the draft IMP. The firm is working with Harvard?s planners to dig deeper into the plan, analyzing the feasibility of the ideas proposed and providing more detail for each proposed academic precinct in Allston.

And finally, from the Allston construction mitigation notice, it now seems clear that Harvard is soon about to relocate some of its athletic fields in Allston.

 

[itchy]

That's great. The Doubletree's not the worst PoMo I've ever seen, but it sticks out oddly. The MassPike on-ramps are pretty wide there, so Genzyme seems far away, and unless you count the gas tanks next to the hotel, there's no other development around. The lack of good planning there makes the hotel look squeamishly awkward.

 

[stellarfun]

From June 7


A view from Cambridge St (non-zoom) looking at the former Sears site and in the distance the Harvard Science I complex. (I guess Harvard calls this Science I because there is to be a Science 2 of three of four buildings to the immediate west of Science I, closer to Barry's Corner.

The Great Allston Wall. (It looks higher than the Berlin wall.) This sort of wall will surround the Harvard-owned property in North Allston while construction goes on for 20 or 40 years. I believe the wall will only abut private property, or Harvard owned property leased to private parties. The landscaping will probably rival Arnold Arboretum by the time the wall comes down.

The Science I construction site: (The tan colored building the building with the white roll-up doors are Harvard owned.) In the scond picture below, the area beyond the orange barrel is to be a groundwater recharge site.

The exterior mockup being built in the former parking lot of WGBH on the north side of Western Ave. Looks to be they may be going at least three stories. (Its possible the granite lions are also 'laired' away on this lot. No opportunity to search further.)

The interior mockup is being built inside the former WGBH building on the north side of Western Ave.

And Harvard is starting to strip away the surface of playing fields near Soldiers field Road west of the stadium. The sequence, assuming Harvard is logical, would be to relocate fields from south of the stadium to west of the stadium; construct new indoor athletic venues on the south fields along N. Harvard St.; tear down existing athletic buildings north of the stadium; build new residence houses where the althletic buildings were torn down; use the new residential houses as swing space while Harvard spends $1 billion renovating the existing residential houses in Cambridge. If the logic is right, Harvard is fast-tracking this, and the next buildings in N. Allston will be athletic venues.

 

[stellarfun]

It looks as if N. Allston doesn't want many more people moving there.

The North Allston Strategic Framework for Planning, developed by the City in 2005 working with the community, set out this goal:

HOUSING
? Working toward achieving over 20 years a goal of 2,400 to 2,800 new housing units in North Allston.....New housing would be affordable to a wide range of incomes and family types. New housing would also be in addition to the enhancement, or possible redevelopment, of Charlesview, a large affordable development located in North Allston.

The Globe today had an article that indicates the community now wants a lot fewer units.

Even a 2,000 new housing units goal (excluding a relocated Charlesview) at the now-desired 35 units per acre would require 60+ acres of land, probably closer to 70 when you allow for a new street grid. There is nowhere near enough land to do this; which leads to the rather inexorable conclusion that N. Allston has now decided it wants little in the way of new housing units.

But it also wants a lot else: a new 3 acre park in a neighborhood which already has abundant park acreage; a depressed and covered Soldiers Field Road (I guess by the WBZ studios) so they will have a scenic vista leading to the banks of the Charles, and underground parking for a new Shaws supermarket. No mention of who is to pay for all this, but I assume they expect Harvard to.

ALLSTON, BRIGHTON
Neighborhood sets its vision to a color map

By Andreae Downs, Globe Correspondent | June 22, 2008

For years, they've had only words. When describing the kind of neighborhood they hope to become, residents of Allston and Brighton have resorted to testimony, letters, phone calls, and articles.

Now, they have a picture.

At five recent meetings of a neighborhood group, residents have agreed in principle on a framework, depicted in a color map, that shows what they mean when they say they want street connections between long-separated neighbors, or what "more open space" and "less density" looks like.

According to retired urban planner Sy Mintz, who drew up the map for no fee, the neighbors can now approach Harvard University - which owns almost all the land in question - and craft a compromise that meets the needs of both the neighborhood and the school.

The community's plan is partly a response to the redevelopment proposed for Brighton Mills, a shopping center on a former industrial site on Western Avenue. Residents of the Charlesview Apartments, which Mintz designed in the 1970s, are to be moved to that site from their crumbling concrete structure at the corner of Western Avenue and North Harvard Street. Harvard swapped the land at Brighton Mills for the corner lot that is central to its new campus in Allston.

But neighbors objected to the density of the proposed site - more than 400 units on six acres are to replace 213 at North Harvard Street - and a lack of publicly accessible open space. Under the neighborhood framework, Harvard would have to add 13 acres to the Charlesview development.
Asked about the proposal last week, Harvard's community representative, Kevin McCluskey, declined to comment.

But the university has repeatedly asserted that it has no role in the process of building a new Charlesview beyond providing land and some funds as part of an agreement between the university and the Charlesview's nonprofit board.

Plans for the new Charlesview and the community proposal are now before the Boston Redevelopment Authority, which has to give its approval before construction begins.

Without commenting directly on the framework, BRA spokeswoman Jessica Shumaker said the agency "welcomes anything that increases the level of public awareness and constructive participation in development planning. We're very aware of the issues they are discussing; we've heard the community."

The community's framework connects east-west streets across the current shopping center, includes a 3-acre park, relocates the Shaw's supermarket, adds wide sidewalks to major streets such as Everett, and connects the neighborhood to the Charles River parks by depressing Soldiers Field Road, as Harvard is already proposing for part of the road between its two campuses.

"This is a position," Mintz said. "It allows for the community to go to Harvard and say, 'Let's cooperate in a way that's beneficial to Harvard and the neighborhood; let's build something wonderful for the Charlesview residents and for the others who move in.' It could be Harvard-affiliated housing. Why segregate? They could be part of a community with babysitters and others as neighbors."

Mintz said he came up with the drawings after reading all the letters, documents, and testimony on community plans for Allston and Harvard-related projects, including the relocated Charlesview. He also read the BRA's community planning documents from 2005 and used the ideas common to all these sources to draw up a map that represents a way of realizing all the neighborhood's goals.

"This is not things that have never been shown before," he said. "It's a consensus plan. It's practical."

Most of the parking would be on-street or underground. Most of the housing in the neighborhood would be two- or three-story duplexes, rather than the blocks of apartments proposed for parts of the Charlesview relocation. A few buildings along Western Avenue would be taller, but include ground-floor retail. Housing is at 35 units per acre, compared with 55 per acre in the Charlesview plan, and no structure would be taller than six stories.

At the most recent meeting of the neighborhood group on June 10, the framework received a generally positive response.

"It's a wonderful idea to depress Soldiers Field Road," said Mike Price, of Westford Street . "It will let the community walk directly to the park on the river."

But other particulars - which shops would occupy the retail spaces, how Charlesview tenants would be distributed and how they want to be relocated, whether there will be a stop on the commuter rail line or a pedestrian bridge over the Turnpike - are not fixed yet.

"These questions need to be worked out; I can't tell you we have the answers," Mintz told several questioners. "That's the next step after we meet with Harvard with a plan."

"You've done a marvelous job of sketching out what the neighborhood has talked about," said Brent Whelan, a neighborhood activist.

Neighborhood organizer Tim McHale said he and others were taking the framework to staff at the BRA and elected officials to get their reactions and support in the next few weeks.

The BRA is continuing to review the Charlesview project and read the community planning responses, Shumaker said. The agency is expected to make its response in the next couple of months.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/ar...orhood_sets_its_vision_to_a_color_map?mode=PF

image ^^ from Bulletin newspapers. It shows the proposed new park.

BRIGHTON ? While the Community Builders revise their plans for Harvard?s Brighton Mills project, residents unhappy with Harvard?s plan recently took the matter into their own hands.

They hired local retired architect, Sy Mintz, who is working pro-bono, to come up with what he calls a "framework" to a new plan, which he said takes the community?s ideas for the area into consideration.

Residents of the Allston-Brighton North Neighbors Forum approved Mintz?s alternate plan at their recent meeting.

Representatives from Harvard University were not at the meeting.

In an interview after the meeting, Kevin McCluskey, Harvard?s community liaison said he was aware of the alternate plans but has not seen them.

"We remain focused on the process approved by the Charlesview Board," McCluskey said. "We know the future of Charlesview is of great interest to many people in the neighborhood and we look forward to the continuation of the public review process being conducted by the city."

Mintz and his supporters said the goal of their plan is to create a mix of housing, retail and parks that connect the neighborhood east of Everett Street with the neighborhood west of Antwerp Street.

"This is not a small piece of land," Mintz said. "This is a major piece of Allston and Brighton and the community has a say in the matter. This plan makes your voice heard."

While the Community Builders' plan seeks to relocate the residents of the Charlesview apartments to a new 400-unit property on about 7 acres of land, Mintz?s proposal calls for a 600-700 unit development spread throughout the neighborhood on land closer to 20 acres.

Mintz said that any new homes built in the neighborhood would be roughly the same size as those that already exist. He suggested an extension of Antwerp Street and Raymond, Brentwood and Aldie roads. He also suggested adding new roads to increase connections throughout the neighborhood.

"It?s an ambitious plan," State Rep. Kevin Honan said. "They?ve presented a creative plan that uses the whole space. We need to talk to the people in the area about it to see if it?s compatible to the community."

Local activist Alex Selvig said he was concerned that Charlesview residents weren?t getting a fair say. Many in the audience questioned why there haven?t been more Charlesview residents involved in the meetings.

One Charlesview resident was in attendance and did speak up.

"We?re overwhelmed," Diane Elliot said. "A lot of people don?t even know the language and they?re resigned to the fact that they don?t have a voice."

Another resident said that many people are just too busy to attend all the different meetings held by all the different neighborhood groups.

"Who can keep track of it all?" one resident said.

Resident Tim McHale praised the plan and called it, "Excellent."

"We want to work with the community and we hope to sit down face to face with Harvard in the next 30 days to discuss the plan," he said.

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