Optimism Carries Allston Meeting

Optimistic sentiments pervaded the Harvard-Allston Task Force meeting last evening as the representatives from the City of Boston who presented an update on community benefits and an outline for the city’s feedback on Harvard’s master plan for development were met with applause.

The Mayor’s Liaison for Higher Education at the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) Linda Kowalcky led a presentation on the community benefits that Harvard could provide to the Boston neighborhood as it expands across the river.

The city of Boston requires large institutions to submit an institutional master plan, a long-term proposal for extensive developments such as Harvard’s plan for expansion in Allston that will include a new science complex, an art complex, and new dormitories for graduate students, among other projects. Harvard expects to submit its final master plan in September, accompanied by a community benefits package.

Kowalcky urged the task force to develop “a good hefty dose of organization” in the next few weeks in order to dive into the discussion and turn the community benefits process into tangible gains for Allston residents.

“I am hopeful that by the end of the summer, we will have had a really good start on the entire benefits process,” Kowalcky said. “If we can see where priorities and goals can be achieved soon, we’d like things to happen sooner, rather than later.”

After Kowalcky’s presentation, the BRA’s new director of planning Kairos Shen took the floor to present the draft of the city’s scope for Harvard’s master plan. He emphasized what the BRA saw as the need for the University to integrate its new structures with the community around them and the necessity of increasing residents’ access to public open spaces.

“You as a pedestrian should be able to move seamslessly through the street without feeling like there is a disconnect between the town and Harvard’s property,” Shen said. “We need to look at how the design of the campus can actually increase permeability.”

Although task force members said that they were satisfied with the BRA’s work, a few members also said that they were more concerned about the future negotiations with Harvard.

“This was the best task force meeting I’ve ever sat through,” Task Force member Bruce Houghton said. “I certainly hope that the BRA has the strenghth and the courage to stand by their guns.”

Harvard’s Chief Planner Kathy Speigelman said that she was pleased with the BRA’s scope.

“These suggestions are a challenge to us because they are so expansive, but I believe that it is a challenge that we can meet,” Spiegelman said after the meeting.

—Staff writer Nan Ni can be reaced at nni@fas.harvard.edu.