Harvard - Allston Campus

[TC]

Good thing Harvard wasn't looking to build a really tall building or this list would have been much longer. :wink:

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

Some of those demands are laughable but many make sense. Parks, Access to athletic facilities, new school, those seem like great ideas if Harvard is going to "improve" the area.

 

[statler]

Inside word says don't hold your breath on this one.

Fresh air, no Harvard Sq.: Allston farm eyed
By Jay Fitzgerald
Boston Herald General Economics Reporter
Wednesday, May 2, 2007

A Green Acres in Allston would be the place to be for Harvard students and faculty members who want to create their very own sustainable farm within city limits.
A number of campus groups and individuals are proposing that Harvard, which is now designing a massive new campus on the Allston side of the Charles River, build a small farm where students could get back to farm livin? as life used to be, the university confirmed yesterday.
?Keep it all in perspective,? said Harvard spokesman Joe Wrinn, stressing the sustainable farm proposal is just ?one of many ideas for future development of Allston.?


Ideas from students and others have also included a new driving range and windmills on the future Allston campus.
But the sustainable-farm concept seems to have serious support among some campus groups.
Though land isn?t spreadin? out so far and wide in Allston, supporters of the idea have noted that Yale has its own, small one-acre sustainable farm - and Harvard could have one, too.
Harvard?s Sustainable Allston committee and Harvard Medical School?s Center for Health and the Global Environment are among those pushing the small-farm idea.
Spokesmen for the groups either couldn?t be reached for comment or declined to talk about the envisioned farm, saying they didn?t want to jeopardize an idea that?s only in the early stages of discussion.
But the Harvard Crimson yesterday quoted one student co-chair of the Sustainable Allston committee as saying in a recent video that ?students are often very out of touch with the land.?
Another environmental group has asked students via e-mail whether they would be interested in donating funds to a sustainable farm and if they?d spend time at one, the Crimson reported.
So, as envisioned, the new Allston campus would also be about chores, not just classrooms and stores. Fresh air, not just another Harvard Square.
A spokesman for Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who has occasionally butted heads with Harvard leaders over their plans for Allston, reiterated the sustainable-farm proposal is one of a ?lot of creative ideas being discussed? at Harvard.

Link

My professor was telling us about this last night. He jokingly told us last night to expect a picture of the Harvard president holding a pitchfork in today's Herald.

Close enough:

 

[statler]

Pay to play?

By Steve Bailey, Globe Columnist | May 2, 2007

Can Deval Patrick put the squeeze on his old alma mater, Harvard University?

His administration has been trying to do just that for the past few months, without much success. Patrick's transportation secretary, Bernard Cohen, has been negotiating hard with CSX Corp. to buy its rail lines west to Worcester, south to Fall River and New Bedford, and north to Somerville, a deal that over time would allow the state to improve and expand commuter rail and MBTA service, a very good thing.

A top administration official tells me there could be a deal within the next couple of months. The big hurdle: the money, of course. Any deal would easily run into the tens of millions.

That is where Harvard comes in. The world's richest university is moving ahead fast on its campus of the future, some of it situated on the old Beacon rail yards in Allston. Harvard wants the state to build a commuter rail station to serve the Allston campus, a transit hub that could also be part of the long-discussed Urban Ring, a network of bus and rail links that would run inside the Route 128 corridor.

Everyone understands what Harvard's science-heavy initiative in Allston means to the state's economic future. But the Commonwealth, facing a bill estimated at $20 billion over the next 20 years just to keep the current transportation system from falling apart, is looking for help from Harvard, too. Tell me who isn't?

Cohen has been pressing Harvard to partner -- that is, help fund -- the purchase of the CSX lines. The thinking is an Allston transit hub would create value for Harvard so it is reasonable for the state to "recapture" some of that value through a public-private partnership. It is a theme others around the state will be hearing often in the future.

Harvard isn't buying it, and has told the state so. We're a university, not some mall developer looking to cash in on a train station next door, Harvard says.

Enter Boston University, or so the state hopes. Like Harvard, BU has big plans for its campus. In March, BU took the wraps off a master plan to turn the concrete wasteland along Commonwealth Avenue near the BU Bridge into the new heart of the university, uniting the east and west campuses. The BU plan also includes a new transportation hub, with a new Green Line stop, a new commuter rail stop, and a future stop on the Urban Ring.

The state looks at two big universities, one with an endowment of $29 billion, and sees leverage. Is there really room for two transportation hubs a half-mile apart? Probably not, the state says. Would it matter if one institution stepped up and the other didn't?

"Competition is always good," a state official told me. "That is the world we live in."

Harvard says it hasn't said no to anything yet. "Harvard's mission is not to be in the railroad business," says Kevin Casey, the university's director of government relations. "But we are interested in continuing to talk to achieve mutual goals." Joe Mercurio, BU's executive vice president, understands well the competition. "It doesn't make sense to have two full stations."

Transportation is among the state's most promising economic development tools. It is how we link Greater Boston's innovation economy with the workforce and lower-priced housing elsewhere in the state. Don't think transportation, think jobs. The New Bedford-Fall River commuter rail is just the most obvious, and overdue, example.

How to pay for it is less obvious. Everybody is for transportation -- particularly if someone else is going to pay for it. Expecting those who benefit to also pay is not unreasonable.

Steve Bailey is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at bailey@globe.com or at 617-929-2902

Link

 

[stellarfun]

Pay to play?

By Steve Bailey, Globe Columnist | May 2, 2007

Can Deval Patrick put the squeeze on his old alma mater, Harvard University?

His administration has been trying to do just that for the past few months, without much success. Patrick's transportation secretary, Bernard Cohen, has been negotiating hard with CSX Corp. to buy its rail lines west to Worcester, south to Fall River and New Bedford, and north to Somerville, a deal that over time would allow the state to improve and expand commuter rail and MBTA service, a very good thing.

A top administration official tells me there could be a deal within the next couple of months. The big hurdle: the money, of course. Any deal would easily run into the tens of millions.

That is where Harvard comes in. The world's richest university is moving ahead fast on its campus of the future, some of it situated on the old Beacon rail yards in Allston. Harvard wants the state to build a commuter rail station to serve the Allston campus, a transit hub that could also be part of the long-discussed Urban Ring, a network of bus and rail links that would run inside the Route 128 corridor.

Everyone understands what Harvard's science-heavy initiative in Allston means to the state's economic future. But the Commonwealth, facing a bill estimated at $20 billion over the next 20 years just to keep the current transportation system from falling apart, is looking for help from Harvard, too. Tell me who isn't?

Cohen has been pressing Harvard to partner -- that is, help fund -- the purchase of the CSX lines. The thinking is an Allston transit hub would create value for Harvard so it is reasonable for the state to "recapture" some of that value through a public-private partnership. It is a theme others around the state will be hearing often in the future.

Harvard isn't buying it, and has told the state so. We're a university, not some mall developer looking to cash in on a train station next door, Harvard says.

Enter Boston University, or so the state hopes. Like Harvard, BU has big plans for its campus. In March, BU took the wraps off a master plan to turn the concrete wasteland along Commonwealth Avenue near the BU Bridge into the new heart of the university, uniting the east and west campuses. The BU plan also includes a new transportation hub, with a new Green Line stop, a new commuter rail stop, and a future stop on the Urban Ring.

The state looks at two big universities, one with an endowment of $29 billion, and sees leverage. Is there really room for two transportation hubs a half-mile apart? Probably not, the state says. Would it matter if one institution stepped up and the other didn't?

"Competition is always good," a state official told me. "That is the world we live in."

Harvard says it hasn't said no to anything yet. "Harvard's mission is not to be in the railroad business," says Kevin Casey, the university's director of government relations. "But we are interested in continuing to talk to achieve mutual goals." Joe Mercurio, BU's executive vice president, understands well the competition. "It doesn't make sense to have two full stations."

Transportation is among the state's most promising economic development tools. It is how we link Greater Boston's innovation economy with the workforce and lower-priced housing elsewhere in the state. Don't think transportation, think jobs. The New Bedford-Fall River commuter rail is just the most obvious, and overdue, example.

How to pay for it is less obvious. Everybody is for transportation -- particularly if someone else is going to pay for it. Expecting those who benefit to also pay is not unreasonable.

Steve Bailey is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at bailey@globe.com or at 617-929-2902

Link

I thought that Harvard bought the land in Allston with the CSX tracks and railyard from the Turnpike Authority several years ago. As I recall, CSX has an easement in perpetuity for its tracks and the right to operate trains on the tracks. The easement goes with the land that Harvard bought. So is the Commonwealth now trying to get Harvard to buy CSX-owned land outside of Allston, like the right-of-way from Allston to Worcester? Strange.

 

[chumbolly]

I wonder what the net economic benefit of Harvard is to Massachusetts. It seems to me that as the financial services industry continues to trickle to Charlotte and other southern climes, and as the tech industry continues to head 'round the Horn to India, bio-tech is clearly an absolutely key pillar to the commonwealth's future economy, and Harvard is looking to make an enormous financial and intellectual investment in the field.
If Harvard was a private company, and Boston was a city in the Sunbelt or New South, Boston and the commonwealth would probably pay for a new transit hub and provide all sorts of revenue development bonds to get Harvard to invest in Allston. And, it would be building a public transit link between Longwood, Harvard and MIT with public money. Instead, the commonwealth, and the City, wants to nurse at Harvard's teat. I think the key difference between Harvard and a private company is that Harvard can't realistically threaten to pull up stakes and go elsewhere, as Fidelity can. But that lack of leverage shouldn't be exploited by the government; rather the government should be offering to work with Harvard to incubate this future industry. I mean, for f*cks sake, the state was going to help the Red Sox build a new stadium.

 

[singbat]

I wonder what the net economic benefit of Harvard is to Massachusetts. I

re: the research universities as a group (paid for by the same):
http://www.appleseedinc.com/reports/Boston_summary.pdf

re: harvard university:
http://www.community.harvard.edu/economic_impact_report/EconomicImpactReport.pdf

also, you guys may be interested in the Boston Foundation's Indicators Project: http://www.tbf.org/indicators/.

and one more:
http://www.mapc.org/economic_development/Industry_Clusters_MetroBoston.pdf
this paper is apparently based on Michael Porters work. I haven't read it. i was looking for his paper (done for the state in 93?) on massachusetts' economic clusters and regional competitive advantage -- a good read.

 

[stellarfun]

I wonder what the net economic benefit of Harvard is to Massachusetts. It seems to me that as the financial services industry continues to trickle to Charlotte and other southern climes, and as the tech industry continues to head 'round the Horn to India, bio-tech is clearly an absolutely key pillar to the commonwealth's future economy, and Harvard is looking to make an enormous financial and intellectual investment in the field.
If Harvard was a private company, and Boston was a city in the Sunbelt or New South, Boston and the commonwealth would probably pay for a new transit hub and provide all sorts of revenue development bonds to get Harvard to invest in Allston. And, it would be building a public transit link between Longwood, Harvard and MIT with public money. Instead, the commonwealth, and the City, wants to nurse at Harvard's teat. I think the key difference between Harvard and a private company is that Harvard can't realistically threaten to pull up stakes and go elsewhere, as Fidelity can. But that lack of leverage shouldn't be exploited by the government; rather the government should be offering to work with Harvard to incubate this future industry. I mean, for f*cks sake, the state was going to help the Red Sox build a new stadium.

Harvard's Allston plan calls for it to construct 3 million sq. ft. of research labs. According to the 2006 Harvard Financial Report, Harvard already owns 4.5 million square feet of labs, and is currently constructing two science and engineering buildings in Cambridge with an additional 650,000 sq ft. MIT's lab space is probably similar to Harvard's total (minus Allston).

 

[ablarc]

But that lack of leverage shouldn't be exploited by the government; rather the government should be offering to work with Harvard to incubate this future industry. I mean, for f*cks sake, the state was going to help the Red Sox build a new stadium.

The Red Sox are a sports team and therefore not subject to the anti-intellectual bias of this state's large working class.

 

[awood91]

yes, i agree. poor people are stupid. ( :? )

 

[statler]

Well, duh, that's why they're poor!

This clearly has nothing to do with the fact that, as chumbolly noted, it is relatively easy (and fairly common) for a sports team to pick up and move to another city and extremely difficult (and almost unheard of) for a large university to do so. The leverage issue is clearly moot. Just another case of poor, dumb people holdin' back progress. Again.

 

[ablarc]

yes, i agree. poor people are stupid. ( :? )

Working-class people aren't poor, and they're not stupid, but in Massachusetts they're often seething with ill-will.

(Check out the folks who work for the T.)

 

[singbat]

But that lack of leverage shouldn't be exploited by the government; rather the government should be offering to work with Harvard to incubate this future industry. I mean, for f*cks sake, the state was going to help the Red Sox build a new stadium.

The Red Sox are a sports team and therefore not subject to the anti-intellectual bias of this state's large working class.

you sure that's not anti-elitism bias? i don't hear people mumbling (in the same way) about NU, UMB, Suffolk, etc...

 

[ablarc]

you sure that's not anti-elitism bias?

That's right, it is; in many people's minds they're synonymous. Spiro Agnew summed it up.

i don't hear people mumbling (in the same way) about NU, UMB, Suffolk, etc...

Not elite, and not very intellectual either.

 

[singbat]

Not elite, and not very intellectual either.

hmmm.... guess i'll let you get away with that... though i'm kinda partial to the eggheads over at UMB... ;-)

 

[Ron Newman]

it is relatively easy (and fairly common) for a sports team to pick up and move to another city and extremely difficult (and almost unheard of) for a large university to do so.

MIT moved from Boston to Cambridge

and Emerson College very nearly moved from Boston to Lawrence. Fortunately they cancelled this plan at the last possible minute.

 

[chumbolly]

Ron, Harvard is not moving.

Adding to my earlier point, the fact that Harvard will never move is even more of a reason for the city to invest in it. Such an investment would never stop paying dividends, as could happen in the case of a corporation that, a few years after being enticed to stay in Boston, or come to Boston, moves on anyway.

Harvard never experiences significant financial booms or busts, and so it always keeps its buildings in good shape. Compare Holyoke Center to City Hall--they're the same materials, and I'm guessing roughly the same age, but one looks like hell and one looks crisp. Go to the Longwood thread on this site and look at the pictures of the lawn in front of Harvard Medical School. It look like it has been prepped for a croquet match with the Queen. I met someone recently who is one of Harvard's six piano repairers. Six?! Seriously, that ship is tight.

I'm not saying the city should start throwing money at Harvard, but when Harvard says it wants to build the leading bio-tech research hub in the world in a neighborhood that is up to now a mish mash of old housing, strip malls, highway ramps and train tracks, I would hope the government would think "awesome! How many six-figure jobs is your campus going to create? Sounds like you're going to need some public transportation to shuttle around all those wage earners." Instead the state asks Harvard to buy a train track for the state. Inspired.

 

[justin]

I wouldn't object if the state suggested that Harvard build and maintain a station that would primarily serve its campus. But to ask it buy out a railroad for the state is cheeky to say the least.

justin

 

[Ron Newman]

Ron, Harvard is not moving. .

that's exactly what they are doing, in the long term -- moving significant pieces of their campus out of Cambridge and into Allston. To some extent, this is a response to the costs (both financial and community-relations) of trying to continue expanding in Cambridge.

 

[ablarc]

To some extent, this is a response to the costs (both financial and community-relations) of trying to continue expanding in Cambridge.

Looks to me like they've already encountered those same costs in their new digs --before even moving in.

There's so much malice directed at Harvard. Bum raps galore. Remember Piano's riverside museum? That had to do with preserving some guy's view. And the powers went along.