8 Prescott Will Serve as House Master Swing Housing

The building at 8 Prescott Street will be the temporary residence for House Masters whose dormitories are undergoing renovation. By Nathalie R. Miraval

The Victorian house at 8 Prescott St., formerly the offices of the Harvard College Writing Program, will be converted into temporary lodgings for the house masters whose residences are scheduled to undergo renovation during the House Renewal process.

The move has prompted the Writing Program to relocate to 1 Bow St. The Program’s former home will first serve as the Dunster House Masters’ residence during the 15 months of construction on the house, according to Director of House Renewal Facilities Operations Planning Richard L. Picott.

Dunster is the first House in the University’s $1 billion House Renewal project to be renovated in its entirety. Construction on Old Quincy House during the 2012-2013 school year did not affect the Masters’ residences. Meanwhile, Leverett House Masters Howard M. Georgi ’68 and Ann B. Georgi have resided in a DeWolfe suite while construction takes place on on Leverett House’s McKinlock Hall.

As the renewal process continues on the remaining river houses, the building at 8 Prescott St. will likely continue to serve as swing housing for other house masters, according to Picott.

Dunster House Master Roger B. Porter said the Prescott St. location is currently undergoing a “large number of renovations” to convert the former office building into a space where he and his co-House Master Ann Porter can entertain the Dunster community.

“They’ve been checking in closely with us on how it’s going to be [made] into a living place,” he said.

Porter said he believes that he and his wife will be able to move into their new residence in early June, adding that he was “very impressed” with how the University has handled swing housing throughout the renewal process.

With their House Masters living at 8 Prescott St., much of the block will be occupied by members of the Dunster community. Dunster residents will live at student swing housing at 20-20A Prescott Street and the converted Inn at Harvard. They will also inhabit the same swing housing for displaced Quincy and Leverett students—apartment buildings at Hampden Hall at 8 Plympton St., Fairfax Hall at 1306 Mass. Ave., and Ridgely Hall at 65 Mt. Auburn St.—during the 2014-2015 school year.

The Writing Program, which oversees the Expository Writing as well as other resources like the Writing Center, moved its headquarters to 1 Bow St. in August 2013, according to an email from Karen Heath, the senior preceptor for the Writing Program.

—Staff writer Nikki D. Erlick can be reached at nikki.erlick@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @nikkierlick.

—Staff writer Brianna D. MacGregor can be reached at brianna.macgregor@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @bdmacgregor.