Committee Discusses Revised Allston Renovation Proposal

UPDATED: March 1, 2017 at 11:33 a.m.

The Harvard-Allston Flexible Fund Executive Committee met at the Honan-Allston Branch Library Monday evening to debate the Boston Parks and Recreation Department’s revised grant application for a $1.9 million renovation of Smith Field.

Harvard allocated the $5.35 million flexible fund for unspecified public improvements in Allston as part of a $43 million community benefits package detailed in its Institutional Master Plan. The Boston Planning and Development Agency administers the fund.

According to Gerald Autler, senior project manager at the BPDA, the fund's intent is to support “primarily physical improvements to public property in the neighborhood.”

Allston residents have identified Smith Field, located near the intersection of North Harvard St. and Western Ave., as a site in need of improvement. In addition to an amphitheater and “multipurpose natural grass field” to accommodate various sports, BPRD’s proposal includes an improved playground, updated street hockey court, and additional pathways.

“For years, as I’ve worked in the neighborhood, I’ve heard from many residents that they feel like Smith Field, a 15-acre park, is a great resource, but they feel like it does a better job of serving residents from around the city, around the region, than it does serving residents of the neighborhood,” said Autler.

During the first grant cycle in 2016, the committee received a proposal from BPRD asking for $2.5 million to support their Smith Field master plan, but allocated $185,000 to the Smith Park project to commission a more detailed design and cost plan, according to Autler. The current proposal represents a $400,000 decrease over last year’s grant application.

Autler noted that in 2016 the group “didn’t feel comfortable giving away half of the fund in grant cycle one, out of the gate.”

According to Autler, the Smith Field project was “widely embraced” by the neighborhood.

“[Members of the executive committee] felt like this $5.3 million fund should probably, in addition to supporting a lot of smaller projects, support one or two really high-impact projects,” Autler said. “Most people saw the Smith Field as an obvious candidate to be one of those.”

BPRD has since returned with a revised application. The construction estimates and design fees total $6,285,000. The City of Boston Capital Improvement Fund has footed $3.3 million of the bill, and three other sources contributed about $1 million. The BPRD is now requesting $1.9 million from the fund to cover the rest of its costs and complete the first phase of this project.

In an emailed statement, Kevin Casey, associate vice president for Harvard Public Affairs & Communications, praised the seven projects the flexible fund supported last year.

“Based on this early success we are excited by the prospects for year two and beyond,” he wrote.

The BPRD hopes to break ground either late summer or early fall of this year, with project completion slated for the summer of 2019.

—Staff writer Sarah Wu can be reached at sarah.wu@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarah_wu_.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

CORRECTION: Wednesday, March 1

A previous version of this article misstated the decrease from last year in the amount of funds for the Boston Parks and Recreation Department’s proposal.