Mar
5
Non-leasability & the tendency to blame
Posted by nathanael on March 5th, 2009. Filed Under politics
From The Crimson-
“We understand the concerns our neighbors and the city have expressed, which is why we’ve been so aggressive in our efforts to lease available property,” said University spokeswoman Lauren Marshall, who also said that 85 percent of Harvard’s 892,317 square feet of leasable property in Allston had tenants.
But that number excludes the 790,000 square feet of property that Harvard designates as “non-leasable,” a controversial definition Harvard gives spaces it says are either unfit for tenants or reserved for construction plans. For example, the Brighton Mills Shopping Center—which includes a large vacant former Kmart—has been set aside for the planned relocation of the Charlesview apartments.
I imagine some of these kids from the Allston-Brighton Neighborhood Assembly would be willing to consult with Harvard on alternative uses of their mothballed properties.
Relatedly, read HM on the oddly inflammatory comments by Richard Peiser.
“The neighborhood has a tendency to blame the University wherever they can, and I think the only thing they have any grounds to be upset on right now is slowing construction on the science building,” Peiser said. He added that the neighborhood may need to wait years, if not decades, to see Allston revitalized.
With all due respect, it’s very easy to see Harvard as a bad-faith actor when a building like KMart is deemed non-leasable to artificially inflate the percent of leased space to 85%. So while it’s may be in Dr. Peiser’s interest to portray the community as a bunch of unsophisticated yahoos assigning unwarranted blame, a more productive use of his position would be to try to understand the full context of Allston’s frustration as the development horizon gets pushed back.
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