Harvard's Neighbor to the North

University officials in charge of community relations deserve praise for the pact they brokered last month with residents of the Agassiz neighborhood north of Harvard Yard.

Under the agreement, which Agassiz residents approved 60 to 4 in a Dec. 16 vote, Harvard will limit the expansion of its facilities in the neighborhood to 1.6 million square feet over the next 25 years; the previous zoning arrangement would have allowed Harvard to build on almost twice the land it can under the new agreement. The University also promised to spend about $2.5 million on neighborhood beautification, public education and recreational opportunities during the first phase of construction. And the University has taken substantive steps towards reducing the disruption caused by the new buildings.

In return, residents promised not to seek a City Council moratorium on Harvard’s northward expansion. For the University, this is quite a relief. Harvard emerged this fall from a three-year fight with Riverside neighborhood activists, who petitioned the council to set stringent height limits on University buildings in the area. Harvard reached a deal with the council in October, but the University’s concessions to residents carried a hefty $15 million price tag, according to one council member. So not only did Harvard’s deal with Agassiz residents generate good will, it may also have saved the University more costly concessions in the long run.

While details regarding individual building projects remain to be negotiated, the Agassiz agreement is a jewel in the crown of Alan J. Stone, Harvard’s vice president of government, community and public affairs, who—in his first two years on the job—has focused more than his predecessor on improving ties with Cambridge communities. The success in Agassiz can provide a framework for dealing with residents of Allston, Harvard’s newest frontier.

To residents and Boston politicians, Harvard’s initial entry into the Allston neighborhood—through a series of secret land deals that were divulged in 1997—felt like an invasion. Yet the University seemingly ignored community protestations when it bought a 91-acre swath from the cash-strapped Massachusetts Turnpike Authority last year. Harvard will need the good will of Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino to gain zoning permissions for the Allston development. If the mayor feels that he has been marginalized throughout the planning process, Harvard will find itself in a weaker bargaining position as it tries to cut a deal.

But as Harvard learned in the Agassiz neighborhood, the place to start is at the grassroots level. The best way for the University to influence Menino is by reaching out to his constituents. Fortunately, Harvard administrators seem to understand this message. The University is helping to foot the bill for a project aimed at building affordable housing for 50 Allston families. University planners have also instituted monthly meetings with Allston community members to hear how residents envision their neighborhood’s future.

Strong ties between Harvard and the surrounding communities make interactions with area residents more pleasant. As the Agassiz agreement shows, long-term arrangements insure that residents don’t feel blindsided by Harvard’s moves. The same strategies that are serving the University well north of the Yard should also be employed full-force in Harvard’s southward expansion.