This Is Harvard

City proposes blocking Harvard from opening new buildings in Allston if school fails to meet terms for development – See more at: http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/allston_brighton/2013/03/city_proposes_blocking_harvard.html#sthash.iTyMNUAy.dpuf

From boston.com:

Boston officials have warned Harvard University that the city would block the college from opening new buildings in Allston if it fails to comply with terms Mayor Thomas M. Menino has proposed based on concerns from residents of the neighborhood, where Harvard is planning the first phase of decades of development to expand its campus.

Finally!   The city is holding Harvard to its promises and commitments and calling them to task for poor, erratic planning!

U-Save 24-Hour Glossolalia at Publick Theatre tonight!

I stand corrected.   U-Save! 24-Hour Glossolalia is at Herter Park tonight… all night:

12am // Organ Buffet // Tom Maio and Cassie Pinner: Cassie will interpret and perform her poem, Organ Buffet, alongside performance artist Tom, expanding upon the poem’s premise of the heaviness of intimacy between two human beings.

12:45am // Not I // Allison Vanouse: Allison will perform Samuel Beckett. She states, “This play is a precipice. I am trying to leap from it.”

1am // Open Mic & Streaming // MC Magzilla and sound by Bathaus: YOU ARE CALLED! to the stand to share whatever you’d like by way of FREE SPEECH AND ASSOCIATION while under the spell of Bathaus electronics. Rant and rave! Recite your favorite poem, read from a book you’ve been devouring, move! howl! yelp! or be silent. Video Channeling will occur alongside these performances. Pieces include: ROARS // Hermione Spriggs: A mimetic exchange with youtube lions, NO Opera // Caitlin Berrigan, and Whistling Piece 01 // Hermione Spriggs and Mathew Whittington, and more!

1:30am // Free Dance & Set // BATHAUS, Maria Molteni

2:30am // Ritual in the a.m. // B B Gun / Kit Lace: Your personal transcendence is attainable. Blow your soul and consume your mind. Commit.

3am Shaker Circle Dancing // Maria Molteni: We will dance collectively and channel the 3rd Spirit of the Holy Trinity at the third hour of the morning

Link to full map of this moving 24 hour show

Link to White Walls Boston

Link to Boston Phoenix description

No plays this year in Herter Park?

Shakespeare on the Common is almost upon us (Cornelius starts this Wednesday).   This inspired me to wonder what was going on this summer in Herter Park.   As near as I can tell nothing is happening at the theater.   The best I could find was on Universal Hub circa 2011.   I was last there to see the Orfeo Group in 2009 with their hilarious Complete Works of William Shakespeare.

Although outdoor performance spaces can be unpredictable and one surrounded by a stagnant mosquito breeding moat is less than ideal its still a special spot that could be great again.   Boston is doing more to develop its open space, but more needs to be done.   If the DCR can’t fund a renovation why not a dinner theater restaurant with attached cafe?   Riverside cafes are common place in Europe and the lease revenue could go toward renovating and maintaining the rest of the park.   Actually this is all in the master plan, but like so many master plans it just needs to be implemented…

It should be noted that other events take place at the park, like the The Charles River Food Truck Festival this Saturday.   Likewise the park is still heavily used by volleyball players, joggers, bikers, fishermen and children making general merriment… its just that it still has more potential to entertain.

Startup Blvd steps in where Harvard Fails

A while back we wrote on some grumblings about the Harvard Innovation lab. Unlike the MIT incubator space in Kendall Sq (that is open to the entire community), Harvard’s space  turned out to be a relative bust for most of Allston.

It turned out unless you were Harvard, there wasn’t really a place for you. A request back in November to them about how the interactions between the Allston Community and Entrepreneurs were supposed to take place went unanswered.

Anyway, just a while back I found out about a City of Boston run program called Startup Blvd. At first I didn’t really have any idea about what the city was planning, but now they have announced a type of start-up incubator space right on the other side of the pike, at 20 Linden Street!

Check out the Allston Startup Blvd Annoucement Here

The basic idea of the program is as follows:

Startup BLVD Allston started from a simple idea: To create the best startup-friendly community in the Allston/Brighton area by bringing founders together in a cool, conveniently located space and providing exclusive and dedicated advisory services, great connections and resources to help them grow their businesses.

We are located at 20 Linden St. Allson, MA

They announced pricing of $150 a month+, so I really hope this can be a resource to the entrepreneurs and inventors of Allston. Looks like they are taking applications for the first round until Aug 3, if you are interested definitely check it out.

[BRA] Notice of Community Meeting for the New Brighton Landing PDA Master Plan

From: Erico.Lopez.bra@cityofboston.gov
Project Name: Master Plan for Planned Development Area #87 – New Brighton Landing

Project Proponent: New Brighton Landing, LLC.

Project Description: The site described in the Master Plan contains approximately 13.98 acres (about 608,969 square feet) of land area located on both the north and south sides of Guest Street and the east side of Life Street, in Brighton. The portion of the site on the northerly side of Guest Street is bounded to the north by land of the MBTA, to the south by Guest Street, to the east by a Stop & Shop Supermarket and to the west by the office complex known as Brighton Landing. The portion on the southerly side of Guest Street is bounded to the north by Edward C. Joyce, Trustee/B.L. Makepeace, Inc., and to the west by Life Street. Only a small 8,049 square foot parcel on the southerly side of Guest Street is not contiguous to any of the other parcels (collectively, the “Project Site”). The Master Plan describes four new projects (each, a “Proposed Project,” and collectively, the “Proposed Projects”) to be located on the Project Site: (i) a new Office Use building with accessory parking and loading to house New Balance employees, managers and officers, together with Retail Use, Restaurant Use and Service Use; (ii) a new Office Use building or buildings with accessory parking and loading, Restaurant Use, Retail Use, and Service Use; (iii) a Hotel Use with accessory parking and loading, Restaurant Use, Retail Use, and Service Use; and (iv) a sports facility with accessory parking and loading, Restaurant Use, Retail Use, and Service Use. The Master Plan sets forth the proposed location and range of dimensions of the Proposed Projects, the proposed uses, a traffic analysis for the Proposed Projects and the anticipated public benefits of the Proposed Projects. The Master Plan also describes the planning objectives and character of the Proposed Projects.

Meeting Date/ Place: 7:00 PM, Tuesday, April 10, 2012 at the WGBH Auditorium, One Guest Street, Brighton, MA 02135

Close of Comment Period: Monday, May 7, 2012

MAIL TO: ERICO LOPEZ
BOSTON REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
ONE CITY HALL SQUARE, 9TH FLOOR
BOSTON, MA 02201
FAX TO: 617-742-7783
PHONE: 617-918-4429
EMAILTO: erico.lpoez.bra@cityofboston.gov

Erico J. Lopez
Senior Project Manager
Boston Redevelopment Authority
One City Hall Square
Boston, MA 02201
(p) 617-918-4429
(f) 617-742-7783
Erico.Lopez.BRA@cityofboston.gov

Harvard gearing up to build in Barry’s Corner?

We’ve heard this before…

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2012/2/15/harvard-plans-worry-residents/

Guest St Planning Study (Draft) is out [REPOST]

Full text: Guest St Area Planning Study – Draft Plan

After skimming it, in general, I’m happy with it:

- Alludes to the need for a commuter rail connection for the neighborhood

- Discusses the current traffic problems and possible solutions

- Envisions more green space and bike lanes, while still maintaining street parking

- In general, does not propose residential housing too close to the Pike, which study after study has shown is a bad idea

- Envisions offices near the Pike NOT big box retailers (aka Lowes)

Tata Hall Meeting on Wed at 6pm

You are invited to a

Public Meeting
Wednesday, November 30th, 2011
6:00 PM
Honan Allston Library

(meeting will be held in rear of library)

Harvard Construction Mitigation and Harvard Business School
will be presenting the Tata Hall Construction Management
plan, including trucking, traffic details, construction schedule,
and other project details. This meeting will take place at the
Honan Allston Library at 6:00 P.M.

If you cannot make the meeting, information on the project
will be posted on the construction mitigation website
www.construction.harvard.edu and will be updated on a
weekly basis. You can also reach out to the Mitigation Team
directly at 617-496-0857

Harvard opens up i-lab in WGBH Space

Finally, it has happened, the old WGBH building has seen some interior renovations and the opening of Harvad’s first real entry into entrepreneurship. The Harvard Innovation Lab opened its doors today!

More info in this Globe article: http://bostonglobe.com/metro/2011/11/18/harvard-makes-foray-into-start-scene-with-lab/RUzKF02RM27W84JshJKHtO/story.html

I am very happy to see that space put to use! But I am also curious about the mission. The quoted mission statement is:

The Harvard innovation lab is a new and innovative initiative fostering team-based and entrepreneurial activities and deepening interactions among Harvard students, faculty, entrepreneurs, and members of the Allston and Greater Boston community.

I haven’t really seen how this will directly benefit anyone in the Allston or Boston community, so it seems to me that i-lab is a strictly Harvard only initiative. Will local (non-Harvard) entrepreneurs be invited to work in the space? For now, it seems the answer is no.

I have previously run my business from MIT’s One Broadway C3 coworking space / incubator, which has been incredibly friendly and open to the entire boston-based entrepreneurship community. If Harvard would open its doors to Boston, and especially Allston, entrepreneurs, I think it would see a lot of benefits. But, it remains to be seen if Harvard will do this. There is certainly no information on how to do that on their website. Or more likely, in a typical Harvard-esque maneuver, the  community will be completely shut out from any newly developed resources. I guess time will tell, but I’m hoping they decide to actually fulfill their mission statement, and offer space to Allston startups…

Check out the Harvard i-lab directly here: http://i-lab.harvard.edu/

Oh, and if you can find a “contact us” button on the i-lab webpage somewhere let me know. I couldn’t

Advisory Group Working Session #2 – Thursday, September 15, 2011 – 6:30pm to 8:30pm – Brighton Marine Health Center – Brighton

From the BRA:

Dear Advisory Group members for the Brighton / Guest Street Planning Study:

The Boston Redevelopment Authority, together with its Sasaki consultant team, will be holding the second Advisory Group working session for the Brighton / Guest Street Area Planning Study in order to discuss development scenarios, criteria and economic impacts for the study area, and obtain feedback from the Advisory Group and the community.  The public is welcome to attend all Advisory Group working sessions, and all working sessions will be posted on the BRA’s meeting calendar webpage.

Advisory Group Working Session #2 will be held on Thursday, September 15, 2011 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm at the Brighton Marine Health Center in conference room #1 at 77 Warren Street (between Commonwealth Avenue and Cambridge Street) in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston.  Parking is free and the building is wheelchair accessible.  Our offices are easily accessible by MBTA trains and buses. By subway, take the Green “B” Line train to the Warren Street stop. We are located a half block west of the stop.  You may also take the #57 bus (Kenmore Square/Watertown Limited) to the corner of Cambridge and Warren Streets. We are located a half block east of the bus stop.

The purpose of the Brighton Planning Study is to examine development scenarios and their economic and physical impacts, and ultimately make recommendations for appropriate mix of uses, urban design massing, and public realm improvements, traffic mitigation measures, and economic development opportunities.

Please feel free to call or email us should you have any questions at:

• Mary Knasas, Senior Planner III – 617.918.4489 – mary.knasas.bra@cityofboston.gov; or

• Carlos J. Montañez, Senior Planner II – 617.918.4442 –carlos.montanez.bra@cityofboston.gov

Gratefully,

Carlos

_________________________________________________

Carlos J. Montañez, Senior Planner

-  Neighborhood Planner for Allston-Brighton & East Boston

-  Rutherford Ave/Sullivan Sq Planning

-  Harrison-Albany Corridor Strategic Planning

-  Brighton Guest Street Planning

Boston Redevelopment Authority

One City Hall Square   |  Boston, MA 02201-1007

617.918.4442 |  carlos.montanez.bra@cityofboston.gov