By Todd Feathers, News Correspondent
The Boston Landmarks Commission (BLC) met Tuesday and unanimously voted to deny upgrading the significance of the Huntington Avenue YMCA building and making it a historical landmark. By denying the building landmark status, the BLC cleared the way to build a proposed residence hall, that would open in August 2013.
The commission also unanimously voted to deny YMCA members’ petition seeking further study of the building’s historical significance.
Tuesday’s vote is the most recent in a line of hurdles Northeastern has overcome in its efforts to build a 17-story dormitory behind the YMCA building on Huntington Avenue.
The dormitory plan received unanimous approval from both the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) and Boston Zoning Commission in April. As a response, members of the Huntington Avenue YMCA petitioned the BLC and Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) to designate the building a historic landmark.
“If the board ended up landmarking the YMCA that would be a huge roadblock,” John Tobin, vice president for city and community affairs at Northeastern and former Boston city councilor, said.
Both Northeastern officials and YMCA administrators said they vehemently object to the petitions and plan on fighting them.
“We are very much opposed to that proposal,” Kelley Rice, vice president of development and communications for the YMCA, said. “This is an issue that has been looked at before, and the city and state had made the determination that this building was not of significance. We believe that ruling should stand.”
Calvin Arey, a YMCA member who has lead the opposition to the dormitory, said the new building would be “out of scale and out of context” with historic buildings in the area, such as Jordan Hall and the YMCA building itself.
Despite the BLC’s ruling, YMCA members opposed to the dorm said they still have several other options to stop demolition and construction.
A letter from Brona Simon, executive director of the MHC, to Phoenix Property Company, the developers who would build the dormitory and lease it to Northeastern, said the building as it is currently designed would have an “adverse effect” and “visually compromise the character of the historic neighborhood.”
The MHC next meets June 8, one day after the BLC’s 90-day demolition delay expires.
YMCA members said they are also considering challenging the BRA’s approval of the plan in court, because it would extend Northeastern’s official footprint to include real estate the university does not own.
“I just don’t see how the footprint of the university can be extended to include land they don’t own and aren’t going to own,” Arey said. “They’re just simply leasing space there.”
YMCA supporters and Northeastern officials both believe the MHC will rule in their favor, despite their opposing positions.
“I’m hopeful but I’m also fairly confident,” Tobin said. “We’re addressing the concerns the Massachusetts Historical Commission had, and also having further dialogue with the BLC in order for us to move forward and have this dorm built in time for an opening of August 2013.”
Although they are confident the dorm plan will not be stopped, YMCA administrators are still struggling to appease members who are worried about the quality of the new facility that will be built in place of the old one.
Rice said the YMCA plans on spending about $20 million, out of the $21.5 million they will receive in the sale of the building on renovating the facility. However, in the eyes of some members, a cost estimate is not enough.
“They do not have schematic drawings, what they do have is a rough idea,” Arey said.
If the dorm plan is given the green light, the YMCA and Northeastern have made arrangements for YMCA members to use the Marino Center while construction is underway.
“We have worked a deal with Northeastern so that our members have daily access to the Marino Center and they also have limited pool use during the interim construction period,” Rice said.
Northeastern officials said they are conscious of the fact 2,500 new users could cause problems in Marino, and that YMCA members would not be able to use the facilities during peak hours.
“There are going to be certain safeguards put in there so it’s not going to be overburdened,” Tobin said.
Arey said granting YMCA members access to the Marino Center would not solve the problem, and YMCA members would continue fighting to preserve the YMCA building as it is.
“It’s still very much up in the air whether this will happen or not,” Arey said.
