FAS, Radcliffe At Odds Over Byerly Hall Lease

An admission from 8 Garden St.: the Harvard-Radcliffe Office of Admissions and Financial Aid is examining options to relocate from the Byerly Hall space it has occupied for the past 25 years.

The quarter-century lease allowing the Admissions Office and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) administrative offices to reside in Byerly will expire this summer.

Radcliffe College--which owns the 67-year-old building--has proposed a new five-year lease agreement with terms the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) is not ready to accept, FAS officials said.

As a corporation distinct from Harvard, Radcliffe owns and fully manages buildings in Radcliffe Yard.

In 1973, Radcliffe leased Byerly to FAS in exchange for a major renovation of the site.

For the duration of the 25-year lease FAS has paid the operating expenses incurred by its using the space but has paid no additional money to Radcliffe, Radcliffe officials said.

As terms of the new lease proposed by Radcliffe, FAS would pay Radcliffe money beyond what it cuj7

rrently pays in operating expenses.

David A. Zewinski '76, associate dean of physical resources for FAS, said the price--though significantly higher than what FAS had been paying--"is a fair market value."

"Nobody is trying to gouge anybody," Jsaid Carolyn Chamberlin, director of communications at Radcliffe. "We value them as a neighbor, a tenant and a colleague."

Chamberlin remarked that the proposed lease renewal was "in no way a hostile move," and the decision to relocate rests entirely with FAS.

"They may want to move but it certainly isn't because Radcliffe is forcing them out," Chamberlin said. "[The proposed] five-year lease is not forcing anybody out.

Uncertainty about the future location of the admissions office requires additional planning on the part of Marlyn McGrath Lewis '70-'73, director of admissions for Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges.

Since her office sends more than 250,000 copies of admissions-related material to guidance counselors, alumni and prospective students, McGrath Lewis said she is concerned that the address on all mailings sent out now might be inaccurate in the future.

"I'm putting my eggs in one basket," McGrath Lewis said. "I'm assuming that we'll be here next year."

Although Radcliffe has offered shorter extensions of the original lease, FAS officials said they require a more permanent agreement.

"The sticking point is that [FAS] us. Now we're trying to come up withcompensation for the building."

Byerly "is an asset that we have been unable toutilize for 25 years," Chamberlin said.

The trustees of Radcliffe have decided to"maximize income, and that's fine," said Nancy L.Maull, administrative dean of FAS. "But we reallyneed a long-term commitment."

McGrath Lewis said she understands Radcliffe'sdesire to exert its independence but noted thedifficulty the admissions office now faces.

"Any move would be inconvenient in the sensethat it would be financially and organizationallychallenging," McGrath Lewis said.

In the face of a potential relocation, FAS isactively exploring its options in the Cambridgereal estate market.

According to Zewinski, FAS is currentlyexamining several properties both on and offcampus, citing Hemenway Gymnasium near the LawSchool as a potential site.

"We are looking at [the Hemenway Gymnasium], aswe are looking at several other possibilities,"Zewinski said. "Several smaller properties havebeen relocated as a result of the Barker Centerrenovation."

"It's very important for the admissions officeto be an attractive area close to Harvard Yard,"said Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68.

"Prospective students are very impressionablein terms of what they draw from the physicalsurroundings when they arrive for a tour or aninterview," Lewis said. "It's very important thatthe admissions office be in a green area...anattractive area and in a building that looksgood."

In addition to aesthetics, Maul said anypotential site would need to be accessible topotential students including adequate parkingfacilities and proximity to public transportation.

In his recent annual letter to the Faculty,Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles stated that"this [relocation] will be challenging (andprobably costly), not only because of the spacerequired (approximately 40,000 square feet), butalso because of the need for these offices to bein reasonable proximity to the Yard."

Though Zewinski did not rule out theconstruction of a new site for the admissionsoffice, he said FAS "would certainly want toexhaust all of the current possibilities" beforedoing so.

"We don't want to have [the admissions office]in the middle of Harvard Square, scaring all ofthe parents from Kansas," Zewinski quipped.

FAS officials say the clock is ticking--loudly.

"Yes, it worries me," Lewis said. "I don't seeany good alternatives right now."

According to Zewinski, FAS hopes Radcliffe willextend its lease for two years, allowing FAS tomake arrangements for its offices.

"It's up to us to hopefully negotiate anextension, and I hope that it will be for twoyears," Zewinski said. "It will take probably twoyears to affect changes that will need to takeplace."

If that agreement is not reached, however,Zewinski said he was unsure of what might happen.

"I guess they could evict us," Zewinski said."Obviously I don't think that will happen.

Byerly "is an asset that we have been unable toutilize for 25 years," Chamberlin said.

The trustees of Radcliffe have decided to"maximize income, and that's fine," said Nancy L.Maull, administrative dean of FAS. "But we reallyneed a long-term commitment."

McGrath Lewis said she understands Radcliffe'sdesire to exert its independence but noted thedifficulty the admissions office now faces.

"Any move would be inconvenient in the sensethat it would be financially and organizationallychallenging," McGrath Lewis said.

In the face of a potential relocation, FAS isactively exploring its options in the Cambridgereal estate market.

According to Zewinski, FAS is currentlyexamining several properties both on and offcampus, citing Hemenway Gymnasium near the LawSchool as a potential site.

"We are looking at [the Hemenway Gymnasium], aswe are looking at several other possibilities,"Zewinski said. "Several smaller properties havebeen relocated as a result of the Barker Centerrenovation."

"It's very important for the admissions officeto be an attractive area close to Harvard Yard,"said Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68.

"Prospective students are very impressionablein terms of what they draw from the physicalsurroundings when they arrive for a tour or aninterview," Lewis said. "It's very important thatthe admissions office be in a green area...anattractive area and in a building that looksgood."

In addition to aesthetics, Maul said anypotential site would need to be accessible topotential students including adequate parkingfacilities and proximity to public transportation.

In his recent annual letter to the Faculty,Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles stated that"this [relocation] will be challenging (andprobably costly), not only because of the spacerequired (approximately 40,000 square feet), butalso because of the need for these offices to bein reasonable proximity to the Yard."

Though Zewinski did not rule out theconstruction of a new site for the admissionsoffice, he said FAS "would certainly want toexhaust all of the current possibilities" beforedoing so.

"We don't want to have [the admissions office]in the middle of Harvard Square, scaring all ofthe parents from Kansas," Zewinski quipped.

FAS officials say the clock is ticking--loudly.

"Yes, it worries me," Lewis said. "I don't seeany good alternatives right now."

According to Zewinski, FAS hopes Radcliffe willextend its lease for two years, allowing FAS tomake arrangements for its offices.

"It's up to us to hopefully negotiate anextension, and I hope that it will be for twoyears," Zewinski said. "It will take probably twoyears to affect changes that will need to takeplace."

If that agreement is not reached, however,Zewinski said he was unsure of what might happen.

"I guess they could evict us," Zewinski said."Obviously I don't think that will happen.