As Harvard President, Garber To Face Key Demand From Local Politicians: More Money

As newly appointed Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 takes the reins of the University full time, he will face one simple demand from local politicians and activists: pay up.

Though Garber’s primary responsibilities involve dealing with donors, campus issues, and Harvard’s relationship with national politicians, he will also be tasked with managing relations with the University’s neighbors in Cambridge and Boston. That includes negotiating what Harvard owes to both cities as a private, wealthy institution occupying an enormous amount of their land — much of which is exempt from property taxes.

As Garber enters his three-year tenure, he will face rising pressure as he works with his fellow Harvard alumni Boston Mayor Michelle Wu ’07 and Cambridge City Manager Yi-An Huang ’05 to respond to calls for the University to increase its contributions to both cities.

Harvard makes voluntary payments to Cambridge and Boston through the cities’ Payment in Lieu of Taxes — or PILOT — programs, which ask tax-exempt nonprofit institutions with large endowments to pay a fraction of what they would pay in property taxes to supplement the city’s budget.

Despite owning nearly one-third of Boston’s Allston neighborhood as well as property in the Longwood area, Harvard has consistently underpaid the monetary contribution requested under the city’s current PILOT program.

Now, Boston officials are reevaluating the city’s PILOT program in the face of a budget crunch, engaging with Boston nonprofits including Harvard to restructure the program in the hope of boosting cash payments. A new PILOT program could lead to tens of millions of dollars in additional payments to the city.

Garber will face rising pressure as he works with his fellow Harvard alumni Boston Mayor Michelle Wu '07 and Cambridge City Manager Yi-An Huang '05 to respond to calls for the University to increase its contributions to both cities. By Dylan J. Goodman

One sticking point in the reform efforts may be a provision of PILOT that allows nonprofits to avoid directly paying up to half the amount the city requests by counting the value of benefits they provide to the city instead. In the eyes of some universities, the 50 percent cap does not reflect the full extent of the benefits they provide, while some activists say the provision allows nonprofits such as Harvard to dodge making direct monetary contributions.

Enid Eckstein, co-chair of the PILOT Action Group, which is advocating for city nonprofits to up their PILOT contributions, said she hoped the change in leadership would spur Harvard to “rethink what their obligations and commitments are” in a city where it owns hundreds of acres of land.

Under Garber’s leadership, Harvard is also due to renegotiate its PILOT agreement with Cambridge for the first time in 21 years. Though the contract was set to expire in June, the city extended the terms for an additional year and is beginning public discussions regarding the contract’s renewal.

Councilor and former Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui said she is optimistic that the negotiation process, which she anticipates will be finalized by the end of the year, will be successful.

“As someone who’s worked pretty closely with Harvard the last seven years, and particularly in my four years as mayor, kind of any priority I discussed with them, there was a willingness to always help,” Siddiqui said.

However, the city has long hoped Harvard’s contributions would exceed monetary payments. In 2019, a wide-ranging city report identified “local academic institutions” as a key player in addressing Cambridge’s pressing affordable housing needs.

Councilor Paul F. Toner, who will be leading a public meeting to discuss the PILOT negotiations on Monday, wrote that he hoped Harvard would provide additional “housing stock for graduate students,” financial support for “Cambridge students seeking 2-4 year degrees,” and assist in public transportation efforts to reduce traffic in the city.

“I would be happy if the City Manager is able to make adjustments/increases in straight payments to the city,” Toner wrote in a statement, “but I think targeted support in these areas would have more direct impact on the lives of Cantabridgians in terms of providing economic opportunities and quality of life issues.”

Huang declined to comment on the renewal, citing “the nature of the ongoing negotiations.” Wu could not be reached for comment.

Harvard spokesperson Amy Kamosa declined to answer whether the University would continue increasing its contributions to either city, instead referring The Crimson to an April statement noting that Harvard makes “direct contributions” and offers initiatives to “better both cities.”

Outside of PILOT, Harvard will have to detail a new set of community benefits for Allston, where Harvard has expanded enormously over the last several decades.

The University is currently in the process of negotiating a new Institutional Master Plan with the city, a planning document that summarizes its development intentions for University land over the coming decade. As part of the process, Harvard will need to commit to specific community benefits for the neighborhood, possibly totaling tens of millions of dollars.

In Harvard’s last Allston IMP, filed in 2013, the University committed to benefits totaling $43 million, including improvements at a local elementary school, a homeownership support program, and maintenance of neighborhood parks.

Now with Garber fully at the helm, Harvard will again have to determine the scope and nature of its benefits to Allston in coordination with both neighborhood representatives and the city’s planning department.

Garber, himself a scientist, will also add his own vision to the University’s evolving program for Lower Allston more broadly, an area of the neighborhood where Harvard is privately developing over a dozen acres of land as it attempts to create a new, regional hub for the life science industry.

Boston City Councilor Elizabeth A. “Liz” Breadon, whose district covers Allston, wrote in a statement congratulating Garber that he should be an “engaged leader and community partner” throughout the IMP process and PILOT renegotiation.

“Our office looks forward to working collaboratively with President Alan Garber in the coming months,” she wrote.

—Staff writer Avani B. Rai can be reached at avani.rai@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @avaniiiirai.

—Staff writer Laurel M. Shugart can be reached at laurel.shugart@thecrimson.com. Follow them on X @laurelmshugart or on Threads @laurel.shugart.

—Staff writer Jack R. Trapanick can be reached at jack.trapanick@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @jackrtrapanick.