University May Work With City In Houghton Area Renewal Plan

The University and Cambridge residents can produce results far better than expected in the Houghton Area Renewal project if they work together, Charles P. Whitlock, Assistant to President Pusey for Civic Affairs, told Houghton area residents packed in the Cambridge Community Center last night.

Speaking before the Riverside Neighborhood Association. Whitlock said that the University has not yet taken any active role in the rehabilitation program, but is willing to make concessions to the community if an overall plan is worked out.

Specifically, the University would not refuse to push back its river front property beyond Dunster House closer to the main plant, and it would be willing to financially back any renewal plans.

Whitlock emphasized, however, "we are reluctant" to give up the property, and "if nothing happens in the renewal project, we would not be content, but would be ready to carry out our plans without the program."

The University, he said, now has tentative plans to build high rise apartment houses for approximately 400 married graduate students in the water front area between the Corporal Burns Playground and Western Avenue.

"If anything come out of the rehabilitation program," Whitlock added, "it's good for everybody concerned." In exchange for property nearer the University, it would free the waterfront area for parks and schools, he pointed out.

The Houghton Renewal Project concerns the area southeast of Dunster House down to Western Avenue. Studies completed yesterday show that 344 Harvard-affiliated persons, including Faculty members and employees, live in the Houghton Area.