University Weighs Uses for Pharmacy Site

Despite the departure of Bence Pharmacy from a building bought by Harvard last year, the University has not yet decided whether it will use the site for a dormitory of office space, Marilyn Lyng O'Connell, co-director of the Office for Government and Community Affairs, said yesterday.

The pharmacy, a mainstay in the Agassiz neighborhood for 53 years, closed its doors at the end of September, but O'Connell said Harvard did not ask Bence to leave, adding that a new tenant is being sought to fill the space.

The building--which also houses Three Aces Pizza, a cleaners and a barber shop--was purchased a little over a year ago by Harvard Real Estate (HRE). HRE manages the University's non-academic holdings.

Possible Dorm Site

At the time, administrators said they might use the site to build a dormitory for Law School students. But Harvard also purchased the nearby Quality Inn at 1651 Mass Ave.

Jean Fortin, night manager of the Quality Inn said as far as he knows, Harvard has not notified the hotel's management of any plans to convert the building for academic use.

And O'Connell said yesterday that decisions regarding the building's use would be made collectively.

"The plans are not at all finalized," O'Connell said. "And starting in December, [Harvard officials] will meet with Agassiz neighbors and with the Law School to talk about plans for the site."

But O'Connell added that development of the sites, although likely in the long run, is not imminent.

"Plans are very much in the formative stage at this point," said Linda Whitlock, vice president for commercial real estate at HRE.

In the interim, Harvard is negotiating new leases with the three current residents and seeking a new tenant for the Bence space, according to Whitlock. "Obviously it is in the interest of the neighborhood to have new tenant," she said.