Well Developed

While Harvard struggles with decisions on future undergraduate accommodations, its recent victory on the graduate front warrants hearty congratulations. The University has recently agreed to buy 170 units in a Fenway apartment complex to be built next spring, which Harvard will use to house students—as well as some faculty and staff—from the Medical School, the Dental School and the School of Public Health.

This commitment represents a great success in the University’s effort to provide lodging for its students. Not only will it propel Harvard toward its objective of housing half of its graduate students, but it will also regenerate a feeling of community by placing a larger number of students together and within close range of the Longwood Campus. Moreover, the apartment complex will include 50,000 square feet of retail space and Harvard’s share of the apartment building will enjoy a lobby of its own.

Harvard’s purchase has remarkable positive implications for the city’s housing market. By investing in the Fenway project, Harvard has given additional security to this once uncertain construction undertaking and helped ensure its completion, currently forecast for Spring 2006. The much-needed housing units—410 in addition to Harvard’s 170 newly-acquired apartments—will create more supply of apartments. These extra options for tenants will push rents down and allow middle-income families to return to the area.

Boston’s residents have been driven out of neighborhoods such as the Fenway by rents that they cannot afford—this development should help stem the tide. With Harvard’s purchase, graduate students will have the opportunity to form a close graduate community. Harvard’s deal will reap rewards for students and neighbors alike.