Harvard rents a building!

As reported by the BRA and Allston Brighton Community Blog Harvard has RENTED one of the many empty buildings it owns in Allston!

I believe the building in question had been used by the Harvard Police and some contractors.  It seemed to be one of least run down buildings in their inventory.  Although the Crimson reports that some build out will happen maybe this will prove to Harvard that it needs to up the maintance of its vacant buildings to make them more marketable.

Regardless great news.  1 done, many to go.

Charlesview approved

Although it isn’t all we wanted I’m somewhat glad its done.  Let’s demolish some empty buildings!  And actually replace them with new buildings!

Charlesview apartments approved

Boston Business Journal - by Mary Moore

The Boston Zoning Commission on Thursday approved a mixed-income development proposed by nonprofit builder The Community Builders and Charlesview Inc., the governing board of the Charlesview Apartments.

The new Charlesview Residences in Allston will includee 240 rental units and 100 owned units.

full story

Also mild kudos to Harvard for coming up with creatives uses for an empty VW dealership… time to go to Play It Again sports for some cheap skates since its BYO-skates.

Also also don’t forget to vote Tuesday.

Important Charlesview meeting this Monday

We need to come together as a community and hammer home what the new Charlesview has to look like:

1. Better integration with the community

2. More public green space

3. More small retail space

4. Less density

The latest proposal in July is much better than the one proposed last year, but it can still be better yet.  We deserve better.

Repost:

Press Release:

August 24th: “Integration, Not Segregation!”
Community Rally and March for a better Charlesview Plan
Tell the BRA and Harvard “Enough is enough!” Preserve our Diversity, No
Segregation Between Rich and Working People!

Rally at 5:30 in Barry’s Corner (N. Harvard and Western Ave) at 5:30, walk
together to the 6:30 meeting about the Charlesview Plan at the Career
Recourse Center across from Brighton Mills McDonalds on Western Ave. We
will also hold a picket during the meeting.

After months of conversations with the community, the BRA, Harvard and the
Charlesview board have decided to ignore the overwhelming opinion of our
neighborhood and Charlesview tenants that the new Charlesview should
reflect the rest of North Allston/Brighton. We want to preserve our
diversity with a mixed income complex!

The BRA/Harvard/Charlesview Board’s Plan is to build a complex that will
house affluent tenants in market rate, waterfront housing, while sticking
the lower-income residents in a separate area by the Brighton Mills
parking lot.

This plan flies in the face of their own studies:
(Charlesview developers:) “Our experience has shown that, where the market
is ready, public housing residents, working poor families, and market rate
renters and owners, of different races, will live side by side in a high
quality housing development, with first-rate program supports, culturally
sensitive staff, and broadly appealing community activities.” This is a
publication by The Community Builders, the Charlesview Development Group,
titled “Resident Success in Economically Integrated, Socially Diverse
Housing”
http://www.tcbinc.org/what_we_do/resident_success/Ford_MIMR_Resident_…

(Harvard:) This blog post cites several Harvard studies about the
importance of integration and the damaging effects of economic
segregation.
http://allston02134.blogspot.com/2008/09/abnnfs-motivation-regarding-…

Western Ave gets more art

I’d like to see a tenant there, but a little art in the windows is a step in the right direction.

Harvard cleans up for the BRA walking tour?

Harvard cleaning up for the tour tomorrow?

I noticed this at about noon today.  I hope Harvard cleans up before the walking tour (1).  For those that don’t drive by every day this is the empty building at 176 Lincoln St (2).

All teasing of Harvard and their empty properties aside vandalism and/or disrepair isn’t cool.   Since it was pushed toward the street either (1) someone pushed it over (vandalism) or (2) a Harvard contractor or employee with a key to the gate hit it backing out of the locked driveway (blatant disrepair).

In both cases this is what happens when properties are virtually abandoned.  I hope this starts and ends with an uprooted cosmetic post.  

“On Thursday, May 7, the BRA will lead a walking tour/site visit
of the Holton Street corridor.  We will meet at 4:00 p.m. at the
Allston-Brighton Resource Center, 367 Western Avenue. ”

(2) http://www.thisisharvard.org/3/harvards-empty-lincoln-st-in-allston/ 

I want my new park and triple deckers…

Walking around last Sunday there were lots of great things to see — utility boxes being painted (1) and new pansies planted everywhere (2).  Walking around to the other side of the river I saw a new park near completion at the corner of Western and Memorial where Mahoney’s used to be.  The park looked like it was very well designed and had 3 new buildings rising behind it (top of image to the left).  The buildings blended in with the neighborhood well — not too tall, not too wide.  If it wasn’t for the new paint and my memory of the area I would have said they were there for years.  I thought what a great model for Harvard and/or Charlesview to follow.  I asked a friend in Cambridgeport and he said it was new MIT housing.  Great!  I can write a blog lambasting Harvard and holding up MIT as an example of what is pure and good.

Wrong!  Upon googling the project it became quickly clear this was a Harvard development (3).  Wha-wha-what?!?   I’m confused.  Shouldn’t there be a large tower blocking the river or perhaps a large hole in the ground (ok, there was a small hole, but I saw the dirt that was going to fill it in piled next to it)? 

Ok, I’m bashing Harvard for the new Charlesview design, which they allegedly have no control over, and for a building that they allegedly don’t have the money to complete and they ARE continuing work on the Library Park.  All I have to say is they seem to be doing a pretty good job on the other side of the river and spotty job on this side. 

And at the risk of sounding like a broken record — the new Charlesview will be their neighbor too.  If that comes off poorly Harvard students won’t need http://www.thisisharvard.org to see poorly maintained Harvard-related buildings, they will only need to look out their classroom or apartment windows.

(1) http://allston02134.blogspot.com/2009/04/boston-shines-brings-art-to-western-ave.html;   My favorite so far is the one in front of Stadium Autobody.

(2) Can’t get the photos off my camera with BitPim, but walk around they’re really there!  Especially in Barry’s Corner.

(3)  http://www.cambridgema.gov/cdd/cp/parks/riverside/index.html

Mutant Rats Attack Allston?

This would be funny if it wasn’t (almost) true:

http://www.ivygateblog.com/2009/04/harvard-expansion-unearthing-rats-big-enough-to-put-saddles-on-allston-residents-not-glad/

New Use For Former Comcast Building

Travis St gate today

Comcast has since moved to the other side of the Pike… adding its foot traffic to the revitalized Cambridge St.  Given all the empty store fronts on Western Ave I think people would even welcome a tattoo parlor (no offense to Stingray Body Art) in North Allston.

Science center site map

Before the fence

Oldies, but goodies - Allston resists Harvard

Former Charlesbank Cleaners:

Former Citgo

 (1) http://groups.google.com/group/ABNNF/browse_thread/thread/38462be4dfe8e7bc

Conditional tax exemption, the other stick

Another stick that could be used to get action out of Harvard is to make the tax exempt status of their properties conditional, not automatic.  The city of Boston already has a similar regime in place to implement the resident discount (1)

For those unfamiliar with the resident discount it works like this - you buy a house in Boston;  You get your first tax bill and are blown away with how much it is;  You call the Assessing Dept and they tell you to apply for a residential discount first quarter next year;  Next year you apply stating you are a resident of Boston and get a 30% discount on your property tax bill.

Why shouldn’t Harvard and other tax exempt entities have to go through a similar application process?  In this application they should have to state that they are using the property for a use consistent with their non-profit goals and fulfilling a public good.

If a building is sitting vacant it would not qualify for tax exemption.

If a building is used as a normal apartment building it would not qualify for tax exemption.(2)

If a building is being used for the public good - classrooms, dorms, museums, etc.  - then it gets the exception.  The Assessing Department would have some wiggle room, so mixed use buildings like those discussed for Barry’s Corner could get an exemption even if some floor space were used for a more for-profit nature.

As citizens of this state we allow some entities to operate without paying any taxes in order to promote their growth for the good of everyone.  When they use this free pass to do nothing with previosuly taxed property or to make a profit, competing with similar for-profit businesses, do they really deserve the full exemption that we have granted them? 

(1) http://www.cityofboston.gov/assessing/resexempt.asp

(2) http://www.universalhub.com/node/14645