Harvard to expand in to Cambridge neighborhood

The Agassiz neighborhood of Cambridge struck a deal with Harvard University in December in the hopes of keeping relations friendly between the community and university during Harvard's 25-year-long, 1.6 million square foot expansion into the area.

Discussions between the Agassiz Committee on the Impacts of Development (ACID) and Harvard recently culminated in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which outlines the relationship between the two communities during the coming 25 years of Harvard's expansion in the area. ACID has been working with Harvard since 2001 to address community concerns about the university's planned development in the area.

The MOU is the result of the ACID "engaging Harvard in a positive, collaborative fashion" rather than fostering an antagonistic relationship between the Agassiz neighborhood and Harvard, ACID member William Bloomstein said.

"We were concerned about the impact on the neighborhood during construction, as well as the long-term impact," Bloomstein said. "We could have put a moratorium on the subject, but we decided to work directly with Harvard."

The MOU is a response to Harvard's development plan proposed in 2001 that will include various academic buildings, as well as parking garages in extensions of both the Law School and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

According to Tufts professor Anna Hardman, who specializes in urban economics, there are numerous problems that can arise from Harvard's expansion. Construction will prove an annoyance to those next door and the buildings will not only change the appearance of the area, but will also affect local traffic patterns.

To minimize these factors, the MOU contains various "impact mitigation measures" which include regulation of traffic, constraints on the time frame of the construction, as well as recommendations for landscaping. Harvard has already conducted a traffic pattern study of the area.

In return, Agassiz residents will support projects Harvard proposes to the city and will guarantee that Harvard can develop its campus into the area. "The neighborhood is very supportive of Harvard's needs to have new facilities and to expand academically," said Mary Power, Harvard's Senior Director of Community Relations.

The effect of increased student housing on the neighborhood is perhaps ACID's largest concern. "The character of a community may be changed if it becomes a community with a lot of students," Hardman said. Negotiators agreed that the first buildings to be constructed will be science buildings, rather than student housing.

Additionally, the MOU suggests that Harvard establish a science fund for community schools, as well as a recreation fund for the town. "We wanted to find ways for the neighborhood schools to be more connected to the good work going on in Harvard," Power said.

Hardman suggested the city of Cambridge may have been a source of resistance to Harvard's proposal as well. "Cambridge has a long history of being concerned when institutions want to expand," she said. And because academic buildings are not subject to property tax, a loss of revenue is "an important issue."

However, Bloomstein said that the city served mostly to "inform negotiations between ACID and Harvard." ACID was also only part of a "larger process." Further negotiations will be conducted by a Working Committee that includes representatives from the city, Agassiz, and Harvard.

Power said that the "overall economic value that universities bring to the communities they're in far outweigh the consequences of lost tax revenue." Hardman agreed that "the city always gets revenues from businesses that become more profitable because they're near a university."

In addition, Power said that the point of the negotiations and the relationship constructed by them is to make sure that the development is beneficial for both parties. The community funds suggested in the MOU are "examples of the kinds of things we want to do in the future."

"There is still a lot of work to be done. The challenge has just begun. Now we have to implement the MOU and make sure the terms are met," said Bloomstein.

Power believes this is possible, as long as dialogue remains open. "We will be working even more closely with the neighborhood," she said. "The most valuable part of the MOU is the emphasis on present and future cooperation."