August 22, 2013
Drew Faust, President
Harvard University
Massachusetts Hall
Harvard Yard
Cambridge, MA 02138
Dear President Faust:
I understand that Harvard hopes to secure Boston Redevelopment Authority approval for the university’s institutional master plan for the Allston neighborhood by this Fall, prior to a new Mayor taking office. As a candidate for Mayor, I urge the university to extend the timeline for seeking this approval.
I do so not only so that whoever is elected Mayor can have an opportunity for input into this 10-year plan, but also because the 2013 master plan appears to represent a significant departure from plans presented to the Allston community in 2007. I share concerns raised by Allston Task Force members and other community residents that, given these changes, a four month review period may not be sufficient to enable a group of neighborhood volunteers — even a group as competent and dedicated as the Allston Task Force has proven to be — to adequately review and comment on a plan that looks 10 years into the future. My experience creating a strategic plan for the area of Dorchester Center, and overseeing a major expansion of the Codman Square Health Center, an anchor community institution that leveraged an additional $70 million in investment, is that development projects only get better when the community most impacted by them has an opportunity to help shape them.
My other reason for requesting that Harvard extend the review period has to do with the fact that a site that as recently as 2011 was being referred to as an “enterprise research campus” appears in the 2013 Institutional Master Plan as an unspecified use. This significantly scaled back plan risks missing an opportunity not only to address some of Allston’s commercial needs but also to solidify Boston’s role in creating the 21st Century economy.
Boston is unique among American cities in the depth and breadth of intellectual capital available through Harvard and our other world class institutions. I believe that City- University partnerships have the potential to tap into that capital in a way that benefits both entities. It is one of the reasons that I have been a strong proponent of supporting Boston’s existing South Boston Innovation District, which has already exceeded expectations, and for developing a second East Boston innovation district. I firmly believe that, if East Boston residents had been given the opportunity to choose between the current casino proposal and an innovation district, the innovation district, with its promise of 21st Century jobs, would have prevailed.
I believe the residents of Allston would also welcome an opportunity to work with Harvard on plans for an Allston Innovation District. The “enterprise research campus” formerly discussed with the community would provide a critically important complement to the nearby Harvard Innovation Lab and Startup Lab Boston. I believe the opportunity for a genuinely transformative partnership exists between Harvard and the Allston community. I urge Harvard to commit to taking the time needed to ensure that the community is fully invested in the plans going forward and that a new City Administration can work with you to make Boston a leader in creating the 21st Century economy.
Sincerely,
Bill Walczak
Candidate for Mayor of Boston
