Resident comment regarding Northeastern University's proposal for expansion at the corner of Ruggles and Tremont Sts.

81 Lawn Street
Roxbury, Ma. 02120
December 18, 2006

Gerald Autler, Senior Project Manager/Planner
Boston Redevelopment Authority
One City Hall Square, 9th floor
Boston, MA. 02201

Re: DPIR Parcel 18 West and Institutional Master Plan Amendment, Northeastern University

Dear Mr. Autler:

Environmental protection- design concerns, relationship to surrounding context

The impact of the height of the towers planned for Parcel 18 West is difficult to assess for several reasons. There is no pedestrian wind study in the Draft Project Impact Report
(DPIR) and though the SW Corridor parkland will be shadowed by the project; apparently neither the state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Parkland Management Committee, the SW Corridor Conservancy or the City of Boston’s own Park Commission have submitted comments on the impacts to the parkland and park users. Only last week at the December 13 public meeting , it was mentioned that a redesign of the bicycle pathway system through the Ruggles Station area would be forthcoming- details however were not shared. Shadow impacts on public parkland, particularly recreational space are usually a major concern with new development; the absence of discussion is troubling. For example the Dec. 21, 9 am, 12 pm and 3 pm diagrams show new shadows dominating both the parkland and the public sidewalks along Ruggles Street. The winter solstice of course is the season when Boston pedestrians are greedy for sunlight. The vernal and autumnal equinox 9 am shadows fall across the tennis courts and the SW Corridor bike path and the Ruggles Street bike lane.

How will the design enhance rather than detract? What will be the impact on the southern entrance to the Ruggles Station (including the walkways accessing the bus waiting areas)? Pedestrians coming from the Station steps will cross paths with the new loading docks for the retail and residence hall. The highest pedestrian volumes are at the ped-activated light at the se corner of the P18 West site (DPIR Figures 3.3 and 3.4). New evening (spring, summer and fall 6 pm) shadows at that location will impact pedestrians who now cross that busy intersection in sunlight.

Adequacy of the DPIR wind tunnel analysis- where is the pedestrian wind study?? A later full report is promised however without the data it is impossible to evaluate the local wind speeds at ground level. In fact it is likely, given the scale of the project and the context of the site, that there will be increased and potentially uncomfortable winds whipping around the corners of the buildings.

The list of nearby historic properties should include the former St Francis de Sales Catholic Church (now the Saint Katharine Drexel Parish Center) at 175 Ruggles Street, described in the Massachusetts Historic Commission 2004 report on Boston’s Churches by consultant Kathleen Broomer as eligible for National Register listing. The c. 1935 building replaced the original Ruggles Baptist Church destroyed in a 1925 fire. The Baptists sold the property in 1971 to the Boston Archdiocese; the building is the only Catholic Church in Boston to be re-established post Urban Renewal when the original parish site was taken by eminent domain.

The context of the P 18 West site will change immensely with the development of Parcel 3 diagonally across the street. NU’s project essentially cuts off the visual and physical connection between Ruggles Station and P3; the absence of entrances along Ruggles and Tremont further erodes the comfort level and walkability of that corner.

IMP Amendment

Rezoning property acquired by the university is a questionable practice without a larger planning context for the institution. When actual projects are submitted for North Lot, Gainsborough Garage and Parking Lot and the Burke St. and Billboard lots, then the city can review the zoning together with the community. Small lots in particular might be better utilized for residential development. A change in ownership does not immediately call for rezoning. Otherwise why wouldn’t the townhouse at 34 Beacon Street purchased by the school for the new President’s House be rezoned “institutional”?

“ A more collaborative and open process” – a worthy goal yet no minutes have been available from Task Force meetings since September 2005 and the strategy to negotiate privately with abutters backfired as seen at the December 13,2006 TF public meeting. Quoting from the Boston Globe editorial November 16, Colleges as City Builders “…with little public discussion, Boston is at risk of becoming a city of dormitory towers… Boston needs to worry when 15 story [the NU project is for 22 stories] buildings become the new baseline for college dorms… the rush to grow threatens the livability of both the city and the campuses that attracted students in the first place.” Planners should justifiably be concerned with mega- warehousing of students; the impact of 1200 students is not so much their sleeping quarters but their behavior outside the building; off campus within walking distance becomes their party zone. According to the Globe’s same editorial, colleges are required to file institutional master plans every five years with the BRA. Why is NU is now submitting a 3rd amendment to their 2000 IMP instead of a new master plan? The projects are coming fast and furious yet the planning is kept under wraps. Another Globe editorial on November 29, College Town Hall, mentions a future 17 story Huntington Avenue classroom/ research building. Huntington Avenue might in fact be a better site for a high rise dormitory than Ruggles/Tremont but the community has not been presented with a site, why not?

The City’s new University Accountability Ordinance asked for specific data by zip code for students housed in private housing. Why isn’t that information available in these documents? The TF process has failed at the key juncture of transparency and accountability; between the TF’s approval of 471 beds vs. the school’s request for 1200. Perhaps the promised community benefits and mitigation will be revealed in the future master plan.

Sincerely,

Alison Pultinas
Cc: CC Michael Ross
CC Chuck Turner
State Rep. Byron Rushing
State Rep. Gloria Fox