Harvard ushers in some change for Boston
Change is hard for most everyone. And whenever it comes, you see people falling into one of two categories. There are the Optimists who see opportunity, possibility and potential. On the other hand are the Pessimists who see tragedy, consequences and fear.The small Boston community of Allston is no different.
Harvard has been eating up acreage across the Charles Riverin Allston for a long time. They began to invest more aggressively starting in the late 80’s with an official announcement not coming until the late 90’s on their 52 acre acquisition that included some industrial and commercial properties. Since that time it has been a bit more difficult to fly under the radar. Of course Harvard doesn’t announce their intentions at this point without knowing they have acquired the key pieces to their puzzle. So how come we didn’t see this coming sooner? All properties purchased by Harvard over the years were bought by a company that would keep confidential the identity of the actual buyer. This protects large investors from being taken advantage of and is not considered to be unethical in practice but often times necessary. It wasn’t until the change of the century that Harvard made public their private ambitions to grow and expand across the river and into Allston.
Since then, local residents have been asking to see final plans for the expansions and how it will impact current transportation infrastructure as well as other public services. Many residents fear that their comfortable and cozy neighborhood will be over-run with students and the collateral damage that comes with any large student population such as high traffic, high density and of course the bars and venues that students frequent.
I suppose those are fair questions and fair arguments. However we are talking about one of the most prestigious universities in the world moving into some new territory. If my primary concern is property value and investment potential for Allston, I’d say the upside is huge. Harvard has not begun their ambitious development plans as of yet due to economic uncertainties, but Harvard has always taken their time and measured their steps carefully before executing moves. Would you expect anything else from a university that has the reputation for being one of the best and brightest in the World?
Allston is not only home to Students attending Harvard University in Cambridge, but also a number of other universities including Boston University, Boston College, Northeastern University, MIT and Emerson College.
All said, if I’ve got plans to attend Harvard University or any of the other surrounding schools within Boston, I’d take a long hard look at Allston and see if there might be an opportunity. For updates on the project as well as development maps and information, you can visit the official website at http://www.allston.harvard.edu/ai.htm.