Exisiting Use •
Existing Land Use
•
FOR HARVARD
Accommodating Preservation and Change •
Preserve the essential character of North Allston’s residential areas already threatened by regional economic pressures. Expand the affordable options for potential homebuyers and renters, relieving the pressure on the local housing market, and ensuring no new development in traditional neighborhoods. Guide growth to areas in which change is viewed as desirable and in ways that support new community amenities, such as a walkable Main Street, and promote increased economic opportunity for residents and businesses.
At first, the community viewed Harvard’s expansion orth Allston’s residential • Accommodate the University’s teaching and research as a threat that would exacerbate longstanding economic pressures. mission by providing long-term campus-growth concerns: increased demand for scarce housing, loss of traditional jobs, competition for open space, increased potential opportunity.
•
• •
•
A m o E c C n h E a
FOR THE COMMUNITY
FOR HARVARD traffic congestion, and disruption of the area’s highly the pressure on the •• Preserve Enhance quality of campus to attract the Harvard the essentialthe character of North Allston’s residential •life Accommodate the University’s teaching and res valued traditional neighborhoods. areas already threatened by regional economic pressures. mission by providing long-term campus-growth g no new development community to live, work, and study in North Allston. • Expand the affordable options for potential opportunity. Harvard’s expanded presence soon came to be seen as and relieving thea pressure on the • Enhance the quality of campus life to attract the • homebuyers Create arenters, residential campus to meet Harvard’s housing local housing market, and ensuring no new development community to live, work, and study in North Al dating Preservation and Changepositive catalyst to address these issues. The community, opportunity here in traditional neighborhoods. • Create a residential campus to meet Harvard’s h ange is viewed needs, including Harvard, and the City worked together to establish a the University-wide goal to provide to be part of it.” • Guide growth to areas in which change is viewed needs, including the University-wide goal to pro ommunity viewed Harvard’s expansion series of mutually interdependent goals to ensure that as desirable and in ways that support new community housing for 50% of its graduate students. chair of the North Allston rt would new community housing for 50% of its graduate students. hat exacerbate , in an interview with longstanding amenities, such as a walkable Main Street, and promote • Enhance access to North Allston from the Camb planning to accommodate Harvard’s strategy would William Marchione increased economic access opportunity for residents and Allston from and Longwood Area campuses and else Street, and promote creased demand for scarce housing, loss • Enhance to North the Medical Cambridge unlock the ability to address a number of critical issues: Amon The stability of North Allston’s residential areas is represented by its wellbusinesses. jobs, competition for open space, increased maintained streets and by much of its housing stock. residents and and Longwood Medical Area campuses and elsewhere. initiat
stion, and Project disruption of the area’s highly Overview
The proposal locates a new ional Factors neighborhoods. affecting affordability
in North Allston elementary school (Allston Square Academy) on the site vailing of industrial commercial uses, particularly in the east the current W. Smith Field, • presence Between soon 1996 came and 2000, rents in North Allston increased by over 55%, panded be only seenon as a a parcel which liestonot with the median single-family home price rising to $330,000. the boundary between Harvard (Allston Landing North) and central (Brighton Mills/ lyst to address these issues. The community, University’s South campus and • As of residential 2002, median household (MHI) was $64,313 the neighborhood ofin the d Holton the City worked together to establish a income Street) sub-areas (beige existing land use North but also between (vs. the Allston, Boston MHI of $74,200). tually interdependent goals to ensure that the Charles River and Western diagram), continued planning and analysis will be Avenue.
implementation steps(see the last chapter). To illustrate how the goals and aspirations of all major stakeholders might be translated into physical terms,
accommodate strategy would • NearlyHarvard’s half of households in North Allston earn less than 120% of the Boston Area Median Income (AMI). mix of uses on each required to ensure the appropriate Although the scope of the project bility to address a number of critical issues:
Mayor Menino presented a conceptual portrait of a new
is entirely pragmatic, the design Less than 40% of households earning the AMIAreas.) can afford site.• (See pages 21-22 regarding the80-120% SpecialofStudy
is the new Spangler Center at Western Avenue. North Allston, first to initiatives the North Allston Planning Group
from the owner’s point-of-view
The stability of North Allston’s residential areas is represented by its wellmaintained streets and by much of its housing stock.
solution mediates home in the neighborhood; less than the medianintentionally price of a single-family between the approaching 20% can afford the typical rentand for a new two-bedroom apartment. Harvard University campus
n North Allston the residential neighborhood This common vision served as the basis for a set of
and gracefully transitions the orth Allston increased by over disparate scales and55%, densities of GuidingthePrinciples that are detailed urban entities. e price rising totwo $330,000.
beginning on page 16.
Among the Harvard Business School’s most recent campus devel
in June 2003, and then to the public the following
September. This portrait – captured on pages 8 and 9 – The W
Camb
expresses the priorities discovered during the planning
These principles are designed to inform future initiatives
process, and illustrates what could occur in North Allston
in housing, public realm improvements, transportation
over the next 20 years. Rather than precluding other
me (MHI) was $64,313
Allston earn less than 120% of the
Source: Allston Strategic Framework for Planning, Boston Redevelopment Authority, May 2005
and mobility plans, economic and workforce development
design options, the images represent one possible