Neighborhood Council Buys Harvard Property

Despite a ballooning endowment, the University is moving forward with its efforts to shed a bit of extra weight in the form of unnecessary real estate holdings.

As part of its plan to sell off 20 wood-frame properties, the University will allow the Agassiz Neighborhood Council to purchase the Sacramento Street building which the group presently occupies for less than market price.

According to University Associate Vice President Kathy A. Spiegelman, the council expressed interest in purchasing the facility--which it operates as the Agassiz Community Center--after the University determined the property was not integral to Harvard's purposes, and would be too costly to continue to maintain.

But with similar buildings in the area valued near one million dollars, Spiegelman said, the council would not have been able to purchase the structure without Harvard's pricing flexibility.

After considering the group's extended occupancy of the building and its important role in the neighborhood, Spiegelman said Harvard decided to sell the property to the council at a reduced rate.

"There was no way they could afford [the building]" at market price, Spiegelman said.

"The end result was very positive," he added.

According to the council's executive director, Terry DeLancey, owning the building--which she describes as "a beautiful, huge old house which requires a huge amount of upkeep"--affords the group a greater sense of freedom along with increased responsibilities.

"This is a big step for us because owning the building means managing and maintaining the building," she said.

But, "if we didn't have this building, there's no way we could provide all of the programs and services we do," she added.

Further, ownership of the property allows the council to go ahead with its plans to develop a barn that is also on the plot for use as a gallery for visual art.

DeLancey said the council was able to acquirethe property with a low-interest 30-year loanprocured through the Mass. Cultural FacilitiesProject, an organization that assists groupsoffering cultural programs.

She said the agreement with Harvard preventsthe disclosure of the purchase price and requiresthe council to keep the building in charitableuse.

While Harvard's generous sale of the one-familystructure reflects an attempt to smooth theUniversity's often tumultuous relationship withneighboring communities, selling the buildings isalso in the University's best financial interest.

In the past two years the University hasidentified a number of residential wood-framestructures that it owns throughout Cambridge andfor which it has no specific need.

According to Spiegelman, the University decidedto dispense with a number of these structuresbased on an assessment of their potential use forthe University and expected maintenance andimprovement costs.

Spiegelman said the University has sold 13 ofthese buildings to date. She said the Universitysold several of the buildings to the city ofCambridge--a move that has created 100 units ofadditional low income housing for city residents.

"This is an effort to say that the money theUniversity has in these real estate assets mightbe used in better ways toward furthering theeducational purposes of the institution,"Spiegelman said.

She characterized the University's actions as a"recycling" of Harvard properties, as it firstoffers them to current tenants, then to Universityfaculty members, and finally to buyers on the openmarket. She said many faculty members haveindicated their interest in purchasing residentialproperty in Cambridge.

Although Spiegelman acknowledged that Harvardcannot be equally as generous to everyneighborhood organization, she said thetransaction reflects the University's attempts atbeing a good neighbor.

"This sale is an acknowledgement of ourresponsibility in the community," Spiegelman said.

DeLancey said she appreciated the University'sefforts.

"Harvard has made an effort wherever possibleto make something like this possible," she said."It's a real asset for the community and theneighborhood to know that we'll always have this[building].

DeLancey said the council was able to acquirethe property with a low-interest 30-year loanprocured through the Mass. Cultural FacilitiesProject, an organization that assists groupsoffering cultural programs.

She said the agreement with Harvard preventsthe disclosure of the purchase price and requiresthe council to keep the building in charitableuse.

While Harvard's generous sale of the one-familystructure reflects an attempt to smooth theUniversity's often tumultuous relationship withneighboring communities, selling the buildings isalso in the University's best financial interest.

In the past two years the University hasidentified a number of residential wood-framestructures that it owns throughout Cambridge andfor which it has no specific need.

According to Spiegelman, the University decidedto dispense with a number of these structuresbased on an assessment of their potential use forthe University and expected maintenance andimprovement costs.

Spiegelman said the University has sold 13 ofthese buildings to date. She said the Universitysold several of the buildings to the city ofCambridge--a move that has created 100 units ofadditional low income housing for city residents.

"This is an effort to say that the money theUniversity has in these real estate assets mightbe used in better ways toward furthering theeducational purposes of the institution,"Spiegelman said.

She characterized the University's actions as a"recycling" of Harvard properties, as it firstoffers them to current tenants, then to Universityfaculty members, and finally to buyers on the openmarket. She said many faculty members haveindicated their interest in purchasing residentialproperty in Cambridge.

Although Spiegelman acknowledged that Harvardcannot be equally as generous to everyneighborhood organization, she said thetransaction reflects the University's attempts atbeing a good neighbor.

"This sale is an acknowledgement of ourresponsibility in the community," Spiegelman said.

DeLancey said she appreciated the University'sefforts.

"Harvard has made an effort wherever possibleto make something like this possible," she said."It's a real asset for the community and theneighborhood to know that we'll always have this[building].