Politicians Question Allston Purchase

About a dozen local businesspeople and politicians expressed fears at a meeting yesterday that Harvard’s pending purchase of a 91-acre Allston parcel would lead the University to push a local railyard off the land and cripple the region’s economy.

And a committee that’s reviewing the deal—originally slated to be finalized next week—told the audience they intend to push for a delay on the sale’s closing so that local agencies can investigate the potential environmental, historical and economic impacts.

A chorus of politicians spoke out against the sale’s near-completion three weeks ago, when the board of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority (MTA) voted to allow their head to accept Harvard’s bid on the land. But last night’s meeting was the first time many of the deal’s major opponents publicly made their case.

Speakers told members of the Metropolitan Highway System Advisory Board—which advises the MTA on land sales—that the loss of the CSX railyard, the only rail connection near Boston’s port, would cause a spike in truck traffic on the Boston area’s already-crowded highways.

Paul Holloway, who represents Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino to the Allston and Brighton neighborhoods, told the board that the mayor’s office would “go on record opposed to the sale” pending further analysis of the impact it would have on the region’s transportation network.

Jerry McDermott, Boston city councilor for Allston and Brighton, said the sale was good for Harvard and the MTA but bad for the community.

“It seems Harvard has an insatiable appetite and they’re gobbling up this land...I don’t see what’s in it for this community,” he said. “The [board] needs to step back and say, ‘What are the full ramifications if the sale is approved, and are we prepared for the potential consequences?’”

He said that, if the sale does go through, he hopes Allston would receive “a substantial community benefits package”—possibly including housing, jobs and scholarships.

Mark L. Houghton, executive vice president of Houghton Chemical Corporation—a local company that manufactures and distributes products including pharmaceuticals and industrial chemicals—said the railroad is a “lifeline” for the region, bringing in products from all over the nation.

He estimated that for every train car lost, four additional trucks would be on the road, putting a greater burden on the state’s highway system.

“The roads are getting pretty crowded already. I think we all know that,” he said.

And Boston could lose freight traffic to other nearby ports that have ship-to-rail connections, said Shaun Keefe, who is Vice President of Romar Transportation Systems, Inc. in Allston, a trucking company which transports cargo to and from CSX rails.

“We need to do things to create a good transportation infrastructure,” Keefe told the board. “This will be a very, very bad mistake.”

The board advising the MTA on the sale is drafting a response which will comment on the sale’s effect on the economy and will ask for a delay of 120 days, to allow more time for review by environmental and historical commissions, according to Marc Draisen, executive director of the council that administers the Highway System Advisory Board.

“The comments as presently written do not take a position on the sale,” he told the assembled residents. “They do, however, indicate grave concerns.”

The purpose of last night’s meeting, Draisen said, was to allow the Board to gauge the community’s response to the sale, in order to fine tune their draft.

The board will meet again tomorrow, and Draisen said they hope to be able to finalize the document and vote on it at that time.

Joseph A. Lima, Houghton’s vice president of operations, said after the meeting that the loss of the railyard would have an impact across New England.

“I’m happy to see local people spoke for local issues, but it’s really going to affect an area larger than the Allston-Brighton area,” he said.

Ginger Esty, a member of the Framingham Board of Selectmen, said she believed the recent cost overruns of the Big Dig have led the MTA and the Massachusetts Port Authority to try to sell any of their assets that they can.

“Real estate people probably thought they died and went to heaven because things they never would have thought would be available became available,” she told the board.

She questioned the idea that getting rid of the railyard would have any benefits beyond the aesthetic.

“What they call an eyesore is really the lifeblood of the economy,” she said.

After the meeting, a University spokesperson reiterated Harvard’s previous position that the University currently has no plans to develop the land and displace CSX.

“We don’t foresee any changes in the use of the land in the foreseeable future,” said Lauren Marshall, a Harvard spokesperson. “The University is looking at the purchase of the property as a long-term investment.”

—Staff writer Jessica R. Rubin-Wills can be reached at rubinwil@fas.harvard.edu.