Katie Lapp addresses MBC members
Boston, MA – Over 250 design and construction professionals attended the Massachusetts Building Congress (MBC) program on Thursday, September 18. Katie Lapp, Executive Vice President, Harvard University addressed the topic of Harvard’s institutional master plan (IMP). Its approval in October 2013 covers three new buildings and one renovation at Harvard Business School (HBS), a 200-room hotel and conference center on Western Avenue, a mixed-use institutional building on the site of the former Charlesview apartments, renovations to the Soldiers Field Park graduate student housing, a major renovation of and addition to Harvard Stadium, and a new home for Harvard basketball.
Slide identifies 2.5M SF New Construction and 500K Renovations for Harvard University. (Click to enlarge)
The approval is a key step in the realization of Harvard’s long-visualized future in Allston and comes after a year of intensive community engagement. In creating the document, the University drew upon previous planning efforts and input from neighbors and the Harvard Allston Task Force. The result is a proposal that is not just about bricks and mortar, but about furthering Harvard’s academic needs while integrating the University and community through educational programs, shared spaces, and pedestrian-friendly, environmentally sustainable public improvements.
Taken together and considered alongside projects already permitted – the science building on Western Avenue, and the residential and retail complex soon to break ground at Barry’s Corner, etc – the University is pursuing nearly 2.5M SF of new development over the next 10 years.
The collective results of this 10-year plan will be transformative for both Harvard and the University’s neighbors. The transformation is not about buildings alone, but includes new roads to improve traffic flow; the creation of green spaces, including a new Rena Park south of Western Avenue; a pedestrian path through Harvard’s athletic fields to the Charles River; and the preservation and enhancement of a grove of trees at Barry’s Corner.
