Globe Sees Parallels Between Beacon Hill and Brighton

An editorial in today's Boston Globe draws a parallel between the recent agreement between Suffolk University and the Beacon Hill Civic Association over the university's institutional master plan. The agreement will result in a no-expansion zone in Beacon Hill and a cap on Suffolk's (daytime) undergraduate enrollment, but will also allow four building projects to go forward unopposed.

Writes the Globe:

A similar process could reduce tensions between Boston College and its neighbors, especially concerning BC's plans to build student housing in the Lake Street area of Brighton on land purchased from the Archdiocese of Boston. Neighbors make strong arguments that there is no need to encroach on open space when there is adequate room to build dorms on the main campus.

BC is revving up with a master plan to transform its campus. But the slow route through the neighborhood is often the best.

Harry Mattison also compared the Suffolk agreement with Harvard University's expansion into North Allston, noting that the agreement with a civic association was the key to the solution for Suffolk -- bypassing the Boston Redevelopment Authority's task force, which is hand-picked by the Mayor.

Mattison is likely on-target for town-gown agreements in contentious subjects like undergraduate housing and non-expansion zones. The BC Task Force historically was a civic association which chose or elected its own members and therefore was in the position to negotiate on behalf of the neighborhood. The current task force, however, is anything but, as last week's meeting with BC officials demonstrated.

One Brighton resident remarked after the meeting about the members' apparent lack of engagement on the issues while BC proceeds to purchase a 16-story apartment building at 2000 Commonwealth Avenue and make only small changes to their IMP despite strong neighborhood opposition. "Is the task force fiddling while Brighton is burning?" asked the resident.

The contrast between last Wednesday's meeting of the BRA's BC Task Force and the meeting of the Brighton Allston Improvement Association (a civic organization) the following night couldn't have been more different.

Thomas Keady, Jr., Vice President of Governmental and Community Affairs at BC, told the task force at their meeting that BC was not interested in talking about the apartment building; instead, he said, "we will discuss 2000 Commonwealth Avenue as part of a comprehensive housing [presentation]" at a later date, after more is finalized. The task force dropped the issue without further comment.

When the BAIA invited Keady to their meeting and he declined to attend, giving the same reason, the BAIA kept the issue on their agenda and had a full, passionate, and frank discussion on the issues. Many of the same people were in attendance at both meetings.

"The recent moves by BC," that resident continued, "gobbling up the neighborhood, would appear to be a direct insult to the task force. How long can they sit by while this sort of institutional encroachment continues? Look to Beacon Hill for inspiration!"

Mayor Thomas Menino appears to agree, at least to some extent, supporting the Suffolk agreement and telling the Globe that "institutional expansion needs to be done in a way that is in harmony with our great neighborhoods."

Harvard's neighbors are already looking to Beacon Hill's residents as part of a model for planning their own future. As the Globe has now editorialized, it is clearly time for Brighton's residents to do the same.

There's no rush to cement a deal, either. Suffolk took 18 months to reach an agreement.


Image of Suffolk University's Sargent Hall by wallyg provided through a Creative Commons license.

Brighton as Hyde Park's Backyard

The Boston Globe ran a full article about how the Boston Redevelopment Authority is calling on Boston College to house more undergraduate students on their main campus, instead of building new dormitories on the St. John's Seminary land purchased by BC in 2004-7. (I summarized the contents of the BRA's "Scoping Determination" in a previous post.)

In the Globe article, Jack Dunn, Director of Public Affairs at Boston College, hurled a charge at opponents of BC's proposal to build dormitories on the former seminary land:

Dunn said neighbors' complaints about the location of student housing, in light of longstanding demands to house more students on campus, amounted to "a question of NIMBYism." NIMBY is the acronym for "not in my backyard."

"Everyone wants to see college students live on campus, unless they happen to live close to campus," Dunn said.

As the article also notes, however, Mayor Thomas Menino also expressed his opposition to the dorm proposal -- both last month and yesterday:

Mayor Thomas M. Menino said yesterday that BC should limit new dormitories to the traditional campus.

"I say to them, why can't they build the new dorms on the campus they already have?" he said. "We want to see more housing on the present campus."

Mayor Menino is a resident of Hyde Park. For Dunn to call opposition to the dorm proposals "NIMBYism" would require Brighton to be located in the backyard of Hyde Park, a geographically-challenged proposition.

It is not often in city politics that the spokesman for a large developer accuses the Mayor of NIMBYism; in fact, I can't recall a single time. Given the Mayor's effective power over agencies such as the BRA, which has the statutory authority to approve or reject any proposed development on BC's land, it would also seem unwise.

I can't imagine the look on the Mayor's face when he opened the newspaper this morning and read Dunn's remark.


Comparing Suffolk and BC

Suffolk University proposed in 2006 to build a 22-31 story dormitory on Beacon Hill, but Mayor Menino killed that proposal when he changed course in December 2006 to oppose the project.

Suffolk University officials responded to Mayor Menino's opposition:

Bowing to the city's opposition to its plans, Suffolk University is giving up on the idea of putting a new dormitory tower on a Beacon Hill site.

But the university wants to work with Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the Boston Redevelopment Authority to find a suitable new location as quickly as possible, said John A. Nucci, vice president for government and community affairs...

Instead of expressing disappointment, Nucci said Suffolk was focused on moving forward. "Suffolk wants to peacefully coexist with our neighbors," Nucci said.

Suffolk and the city quickly found common ground, and the city backed a new plan for a dormitory in the Downtown Crossing area within three months.

When the BRA yesterday called on BC to put their proposed dormitories on their main campus, instead of the land recently-purchased from the Archdiocese, BC officials responded:

Boston College spokesman Jack Dunn said the college would work to address the city's concerns. But he said the Chestnut Hill campus is already "exceedingly dense" and cannot handle 500 additional undergraduates. Building dorms on the Brighton property, he said, is the only way the college can add student housing.

While BC spokesman Dunn provided similar sentiment that BC would work with the city, by telling the Globe that the main campus cannot accomodate additional dormitories he already appears to be rejecting any such compromise with the city and the neighborhood.

Suffolk VP Nucci expressed no such rejection of alternative dormitory locations -- nor did he insist that Suffolk's original proposal was the only possible solution -- after the city killed Suffolk's dorm proposal, in contrast with BC spokesman Dunn's comments.

Suffolk VP Nucci expressed the sentiment that "Suffolk wants to peacefully coexist with our neighbors"; in contrast, BC spokesman Dunn made no such gesture, instead attacking the neighbors (and the Mayor) by accusing them of "NIMBYism."

Let's hope BC can try to follow Suffolk's lead by actually working with the city to come up with better locations for their dormitories, rather than insisting that there is no other possible way to house more students. And let's also hope that BC's officials can also follow Suffolk's lead by showing more politeness towards the community and the Mayor.


UPDATE: Harry Mattison has a few comments on this over at the Allston Brighton Community Blog.
UPDATE: Dunn appears to have been gentler in comments to the Boston Herald.