Irredentist Harvard seeks to reclaim Allston

Fun fact: Allston was originally part of Cambridge, but seceeded (along with Brighton) when Cambridge refused to repair the bridge linking the two.

At the Allston Brighton Community Blog, Harry Mattison has been linking up a storm over Harvard's newly released master plan to remake much of Allston as Harvard Square South, which includes tons of new buildings, tree-lined promenades and putting Soldiers Field Road underground. He's also been pondering more immediate issues than the look of the area in 2050, such as the ramifications of Harvard's nearer-term intentions to replace the existing 550-person Charlesview complex with a 1,000-person complex.

You can take a look at the master plan yourself (will take awhile to download).

John Daley wonders: Time will tell whether the benefits outweigh the costs.

I wonder, too:

Can we really trust Harvard? Recall that the U assembled much of its Allston land in complete secrecy. While one can understand why they did that, it doesn't inspire much trust in them.

As Harvard rumbles toward 2050, will it let its existing Allston properties continue to fall apart?

What are the impacts on Boston's property-tax rolls? Will added tax revenue from luxury housing and Harvard-Squareish retail offset the loss of revenue from all the academic facilities Harvard wants to move from Cambridge to Allston?

When do Harvard and Boston University come to blows? Don't forget that BU has its own longterm development plans - the two universities now stare at each other from across the Allston rail yards (which, by the way, Harvard now owns).

More comments:

Charlie on the MBTA looks at the public transportation challenges the massive project presents: The 66 bus just won't cut it.

Richard Bradley, while grateful Harvard will be replacing "the dump" he says Allston now is, questions the privatization of an entire neighborhood.