“The work I came here to do will be happening at a slower pace and intensity as announced by President Faust last December, and that reality led to today’s announcement,” Gordon said in a statement.

HM points out he’s not going far.

But in a resolution that strikes me as somewhat ironic, Chris will actually be spending more time in Allston in after he leaves his office in Cambridge’s Holyoke Center where he, from a distance, oversaw Harvard’s Allston planning and construction. His new job at Harvard will be teaching courses in real estate development at the Harvard Business School, which is located (of course) in Allston.

A quick kick on the way out the door-

“I found him throughly uncommunicative,” said Allston Resident Brent Whelan ’73. “I did not feel that Chris was a friend of the community or a friend of collaborative development with the community.”

And The Crimson w/ the latest Harvard Allston Task Force plans for 168 Western Ave.

In addition, the work group presented plans to enhance community engagement in the former Volkswagen dealership that the University had transformed into a free ice skating rink last year. Starting June 18, the building will house a batting cage and miniature golf course open to the community on weekends.

The Globe is looking for your ideas for repurposing the North Allston Science Complex wasteland. Presumably this is entirely un-serious, barring highly unlikely eminent domain actions. Because really, do you think they’re gonna let us play paintball there? There will never be any use of the site until someone scratches together a few odd billion to bang the building out.

With Harvard University suspending construction on its $1 billion science complex in Allston, how could the expanse of concrete and steel be used creatively until Harvard drums up a new way to finance the project? We’d like to hear your ideas — big or small, serious or whimsical.

But it’s free, for a week anyway, at The Fishing Academy if you’re in Allston/Brighton and age 6-18. The free Allston/Brighton week is July 27th-31st, from 9am-3:30pm. Scholarships courtesy of cash from the Harvard Allston Partnership Fund. The Fishing Academy is ‘a non-profit that takes inner-city girls and boys off the streets and gets them into nature’.

Daily Trips to local Fishing spots: Charles River, Jamaica Pond, Muddy River, Brookline Reservoir, Farm Pond, Chandler Pond, Walden Pond, Crystal Lake, Castle Island, Buckmaster Pond.

Sounds like fun. Except for the whole killing/eating animals thing but I’m trying to let that part slide.

Well this is amusing.

We learned at last night’s Harvard Allston Task Force meeting that the BRA and Harvard believe this $60,000 fence is a “community benefit”.

If you’re interested in such things check out This is Harvard, a new & fairly active blog covering the Harvard pullback in North Allston.

From a new post on modeling Allston after Beverly –

No one expects Harvard to empty its endowment to rebuild Allston. What people do expect is when you own that much property that you have a clear plan for it – both short and long term. One would also expect some course correction due to changing circumstances. There HAS to be a middle ground between doing NOTHING (the current short term plan) and building a $1 billion building (the old short term plan).

We agree entirely.