Harvard Will Form New Allston Land Company to Manage Planned Enterprise Research Campus

The University announced Thursday that it will establish a new land company to manage the development of its planned Enterprise Research Campus in Allston.

The Enterprise Research Campus is a University project intended to facilitate collaborations between Harvard-affiliated research projects and “research-focused” companies. Business School Dean Nitin Nohria will chair a governing board that will manage the new land company.

Thomas P. Glynn III, former CEO of the Massachusetts Port Authority, will become the management company’s new chief with responsibility for day-to-day operations. As the former leader of Massport, Glynn oversaw negotiations with state transportation officials concerning road and transit services in Boston.

In March 2018, the Boston Planning and Development Agency approved a master plan for the development of an initial 14 acres of the Enterprise Research Campus. The University eventually plans for the research campus to take up as much as 36 acres in Allston.

University President Lawrence S. Bacow said in a press release Thursday that the University is moving into Allston to stay.

“Allston will be Greater Boston’s next epicenter of research, discovery, and innovation, and we want to speed progress toward that goal.” Bacow said in a statement.

While Harvard has owned some land in Allston for decades, its presence has grown in recent years as the University significantly expands into the neighborhood. Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences plans to open a new campus in Allston in fall 2020.

In accordance with the “cooperation agreements” negotiated with City Hall, the University is running numerous programs involving community outreach and aiming to minimize the impact of Harvard’s expansion on housing costs.

Nohria wrote in a press release that Harvard’s development in Allston will take place over many years. “This is a project that will operate on multiple timescales. It’s worth noting that it’s taken Harvard almost 400 years to develop 214 acres in Cambridge. So we should not be impatient," he wrote.

Nohria added, “The companies we hope to attract to the ERC might be places where our students find exciting internships and jobs. They may inspire students to create new companies. They may be research enterprises with which our scholars will forge productive collaborations.”

—Staff writer Devin B. Srivastava can be reached at devin.srivastava@thecrimson.com.

—Staff writer Aidan B. Carey can be reached at aidan.carey@thecrimson.com.