By Ricky Thompson
At a community task force meeting last night, neighboring community members proposed an overhaul of campus that would turn Northeastern into an “Urban Village.”
Northeastern administrators, on the other hand, said the plan was unrealistic and did not account for economic and logistical realities.
The proposal, presented by Arturo Vasquez, a community developer, was commissioned by the Coalition to Limit University Expansion. Utilizing a three-dimensional map of the area, Vasquez proposed the university tear down Cabot Gym and replace it with a residential Central Village, comparable to the current West Village area.
Vasquez also called for the creation of an East Village, which would require Gainsborough Garage be torn down and replaced with residence halls and administrative offices.
However, Jeff Doggett, associate director of government relations and community affairs, said the presentation failed to acknowledge the need for constructing more on-campus housing and the difficulty of finding temporary space for offices that would have to be torn down. He said the availability of on-campus facilities is extremely limited and the surrounding community has consistently lobbied to have students moved into the center of campus and out of neighboring apartments.
“The most critical thing the university needs is to build beds as quickly as possible,” Doggett said.
Doggett also emphasized that the community’s presentation entailed tearing down existing buildings in order to construct new ones. He said this would drastically increase the cost of construction, and ultimately, the university will need to expand and not simply tear down buildings and replace them.
In a meeting two weeks ago, President Richard Freeland echoed a similar sentiment.
“It really does become impractical, every time you want to build something to have to tear a building down,” President Freeland said.
Even if costs weren’t an issue, there are difficulties with finding temporary housing for existing offices during construction.
“Nothing on campus is left open,” said Doggett, explaining tearing down buildings without having new ones to move into would leave faculty displaced, with no temporary place to go.
City Councilor Michael Ross proposed this problem could be solved by erecting a system of tents to temporarily house administrators and other staff who would be displaced by tearing down existing buildings.
The meeting was part of a year-long effort to amend the Institutional Master Plan, a blueprint of construction projects designed to integrate the development of the university with all the surrounding neighborhoods. There is a history of conflict between Northeastern and its neighbors, and this proposal is one in a series of attempts to find a workable compromise.
The next scheduled meeting will be Dec. 14, but before then, some task force officials plan a “lock-in meeting,” on a weekend during the day so they will have more time to fully discuss the issues and reach solutions. Doggett said he supports the lock-in, and is always happy to meet with Northeastern’s neighbors.
“I have always said that I am available to meet with any community member or any community group at any time if there is a group that would like to meet and have a serious discussion,” Doggett said. “But those conversations have to happen within a world of reality.”
