Thousands of Mice To Move In

Hailing a “breakthrough” in their historically contentious relationship with Harvard, members of the Agassiz Neighborhood Council (ANC) agreed last night to support the construction of a science research building that will house laboratory mice.

The Biological Research Infrastructure (BRI), a two-level, 75,000 square-foot underground facility, will be located below the courtyard of the Biological Laboratories off Divinity Avenue.

The BRI will include 16,000 cages, a significant increase from the 6,000 cages that Harvard currently has.

The facility is close enough to a residential area that the neighbors worried about mass mouse escapes.

But after Harvard promised to consider a neighborhood “wish list,” residents voted 23-0 not to block the building.

“This is one small scurry for mice, and one giant step forward for the Agassiz neighborhood,” said City Councillor Brian Murphy after the meeting, at which both sides expressed optimism about recent progress.

This cooperation comes as Harvard is embarking on significant North Yard construction projects. Last week, the Harvard Corporation approved another science building for the area, which is the site of two parts of the University in dire need of more space: the Harvard Law School and the science departments of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS).

William Bloomstein of the Agassiz Committee on the Impacts of Development (ACID) said at last night’s ANC meeting that Harvard had been responsive to neighbors’ concerns about the ongoing expansion.

He said ACID representatives met recently with University officials—including Vice President of Government, Community and Public Affairs Alan J. Stone—and that both sides were prepared to work together on a compromise.

“It was clear to us that Harvard means what it says,” Bloomstein said. “Harvard has agreed to come to the table with some significant long-term benefits.”

At last month’s ANC meeting, members voted to present Harvard with a “wish list” of concessions they want to receive in return for their support of development projects.

Harvard officials confirmed last night that they were meeting with ACID members and were negotiating about points on the list, which includes such items as increasing open space, traffic control projects and a contribution to a neighborhood trust fund.

“We’ve begun active discussions about a mutually beneficial relationship,” said Senior Director of Community Relations Mary H. Power.

Bloomstein said that based on the ongoing “good faith” negotiations, ACID members were willing to support the mouse research center.

Residents agreed, voting to allow ACID to continue with negotiations, although they expressed concerns about a mouse research facility in their neighborhood.

Baird Professor of Science Andrew P. McMahon, a developmental geneticist from the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, told residents that the new facility was necessary to support the expanding research into genetics and diseases, which make use of mice as a model system for humans.

“Our current facilities are antiquated and no longer state-of-the-art,” McMahon said. “Our [faculty] recruiting efforts and our ability to stay at the forefront in competition with our sister institutions have been hobbled.”

He said the BRI will be a barrier facility, a controlled environment which will prevent pathogens from entering and contaminating the mice—and will also keep any mice from getting out.

In response to questions from residents, McMahon said the chance of an animal escaping is “very remote” and that the mice would not represent a danger if they did come in contact with anyone.

Harvard officials promised to minimize the disruption to residents during the two-year construction of the BRI.

The courtyard above the facility will be restored with trees and landscaping, and associate dean for physical planning David A. Zewinski ’76 said truck traffic will be limited to Divinity Avenue.

With the vote of support from local residents, Harvard will present the BRI to the Board of Zoning Appeals in May to obtain the necessary approval before construction can begin, and they said they are eager to move forward soon.

When asked when he hoped construction might start, Zewinski joked, “The day after Commencement.”

Power said that the BRI is one of several major science development projects on the horizon, in addition to the Lab for Interface Science and Engineering (LISA) and the North and West science labs.

Last Monday, the Harvard Corporation approved the LISA, which will connect engineering and physical sciences facilities and include a “clean room,” a particle-free area to conduct cutting-edge research.

Power said plans for the building have been in progress for over a year as architects worked on finding a way to place a large portion of it underground.

Construction will begin in the next few months, although Zewinski said there will be ongoing discussions with the community about the building.

City Councillor Henrietta Davis, who attended last night’s meeting, said she was optimistic about the progress that had been made in the Agassiz neighborhood and hoped it would set an example for cooperative relations between Harvard officials and Cambridge residents, who have historically clashed over University development.

“If it works here, maybe it can work all over the city,” Davis said.

—Staff writer Jessica R. Rubin-Wills can be reached at rubinwil@fas.harvard.edu.