A Contemptible Bid

"We're willing to do a great deal for the community, but we won't go broke doing it."

Robert H. Scott.

THAT'S FOR sure.

The dual offer Harvard has made on the DeWolfe Street parking lot and rectory building owned by St. Paul's Church is a misleading and irresponsible proposal. Under the bid, the University would pay either $4 million for the entire site or $3 million if St. Paul's required Harvard to carry out plans to include low income housing on the site. Under the plans, Harvard would rent the rectory building for use as low-income housing to St. Paul's at $5000 a year for 30 years.

While the offer seems to make provision for the low-income housing interests of the community, it asks the Church to fund the project. Harvard ignores its rightful financial responsibility for the construction of low-income housing.

It is the hope of University officials that the inclusion of a low-income housing aspect to the bid will make it more attractive to the community and put community pressure on the St. Paul's to select the offer. However, given that under Harvard's proposal St. Paul's vice president for administration would fund the low-income housing, such a pressure tactic is contemptable.

In terms of community responsibility Harvard has, once again, missed the point. The St. Paul's lot is the last available piece of property in the Square. It represents, then, one of the University's last chances to fulfill its responsibility to the community to build some contingent of affordable, low-cost housing. This ends is not served by simply passing the shovel to the seller of the property and saying, "If you want it, you pay for it."

Clearly Harvard is not in jeopardy of going broke. The property is a potentially lucrative investment, and has generated other bids well over $4 million. If the Harvard bid is to be chosen on the basis of its community-minded spirit, Harvard should pay for the spirit.

It is the University and its role in the community which, for better or worse, has led to skyrocketing real estate costs near the Square. The gesture of providing a few low-income housing units for the community is an appropriate and admirable endeavor. Asking St. Paul's to pay for the units is not.