What Happened in Allston This Summer?

This summer, while you were off studying abroad, interning at a consulting firm, or just sticking around the Cambridge bubble doing research, Harvard’s neighbors across the river were busy debating proposals for Harvard’s development in Allston and a community benefits package to go alongside it.

In July, Harvard filed its 10-year Institutional Master plan for Allston development, which outlines nine proposed construction projects and renovations on Harvard’s property in the Allston-Brighton neighborhood (which, for those of us who don’t walk by the Business School often, is across the Charles River).

The recently proposed master plan includes approximately 1.4 million square feet of new construction and 500,000 square feet of renovation, including a new basketball arena and a hotel. The University hopes to have the master plan approved in October.

Throughout the summer, the Harvard-Allston Task Force also debated the neighborhood’s priorities for a package of community benefits that Harvard will fund alongside its proposed construction in Allston, if it’s approved. The task force has spent many hours doing so, proposing potential benefits ranging from more Soldiers Field Road crossings to transportational and educational improvements.