No. Harvard Residents Save Homes After Three-Year Battle with BRA

After three years of guerilla-like warfare against the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the residents of the North Harvard urban renewal site have succeeded in changing the renewal plan for their neighborhood from complete demolition to substantial rehabilitation.

The change is a major victory by a hard core of residents against one of the biggest and most powerful renewal agencies in the country.

Under the new BRA plan nine of 16 rehabilitable homes would be repaired and seven would be relocated. In addition, 18 two and four-story dwellings would be built, and a 14-story apartment building would be erected on the corner of North Harvard St. and Western Ave. The rest would be razed.

Oppose Home Moving

According to Marjorie Redgate, chairman of the North Harvard Neighborhood Association, residents favor the plan "in principle," but object to moving seven homes to make way for the high rise apartment. They also feel that certain of the structures slated for demolition should be saved she said. William Homans Jr. '41, attorney for the residents, will meet with the BRA next week to negotiate the final plan.

The chain of events that led to the BRA concession began last summer, when a pre-election series of evictions on the site caused a flare-up of publicity which led Boston Mayor John F. Collins to appoint a blue-ribbon committee to study the issue.

Although the panel was supposed to concern itself only with the disposition of the sites after all buildings were razed, a presentation of the resident's case by Homans in October apparently convinced them that there was some justice to the neighborhood's complaints. Homans showed the panel a plan for the area drawn up by Chester W. Hartman '57, a member of the Joint Center for Urban Studies.

The panel then asked the BRA to give them a plan which would include rehabilitation of certain of the homes. The agency then drew up the one presently under discussion.

According to Homans, if final agreement on the plan is reached, the BRA will determine what Federal Housing Administration financing is available for rehabilitation. It will also investigate whether any residents are eligible for rehabilitation grants under the Federal Housing Act.