Brookline Machine Site Planning Moves Forward, Slowly

Though the fate of a Harvard-owned parcel of land located on 90 Antwerp Street in Brighton has been decided—the lot will accommodate a housing development—some Allstonians say the planning process for the proposed apartment building is moving too slowly.

In conjunction with officials from the Boston Planning and Development Authority, Allstonians ultimately chose to use Brookline Machine Site for housing, instead of for parks and open space, a little more than a month ago. The BPDA is the new name for Boston’s urban planning agency.

According to John A. Bruno, interim chair of the Harvard Allston Task Force, the neighborhood, including initial opponents of the housing option, has mostly rallied behind this choice.

“There was a good lively discussion about open space versus housing,” Bruno said. “But I think there were enough people that conceded that housing would be preferable. I know Tim [McHale] was interested in open space but, after lengthy discussion, even he agreed that housing would be more important.”

Bruno, who together with Task Force member Time McHale sits on a selection committee tasked by the BPDA with choosing a developer for Brookline Machine Site, said he thinks the committee will make its final decision by the end of January 2017. The group is currently working to finalize a request for proposal for the site that will likely be distributed to potential developers at the end of November, according to Bruno.

Harvard announced its decision to donate Brookline Machine Site, as the space is commonly known, to the City of Boston in November 2013 as part of its community benefits package for Allston and Brighton. An abandoned warehouse had previously occupied the parcel, which lies about half a mile west of Harvard’s current Allston developments.

Roughly a year ago, Harvard signed a contract with the BPDA to make the land available for a use of the agency’s choosing. The BPDA then consulted task force members, neighborhood representatives, and residents living nearby to determine the future of the 29,700-square foot land parcel.

As planning moves forward, some Allstonians have raised concerns over the allotted ratio of market-rate to affordable units in the new housing development. Locals have previously advocated for a mixture of both, according to Bruno. At a September task force meeting, BPDA senior project manager Gerald Autler said the selection committee will likely allow for up to 24 units in the new building, at least 50 percent of which must be affordable.

Kevin Cleary, a real estate agent for Re/Max in Boston, said 50 is a “high percent.” He said all developments require some portion of affordable housing but that the number usually hovers around 10 percent. Cleary added that requiring such a large proportion of affordable units in the RFP will likely shrink the pool of interested developers for Brookline Machine Site by limiting developers’ ability to make money off the lot.

This decrease in potential developers, Cleary said, may lead to a decrease in the quality of housing built.

“I just think it would serve the neighborhood best to have the BPDA cast the widest net possible for developers to do the best project possible that will fit the neighborhood and just elevate the neighborhood as a whole,” he said.

Cleary also noted that the planning process for Brookline Machine Site is now stretching into its third year, and that the lengthy timeline has begun to try the neighborhood’s patience.

“This whole site has been neglected for years,” he said, “and the rest of the neighborhood, including myself, has had to look at a gravel pit for years. This was supposed to be a community benefit and there has been nothing beneficial about it… That’s the sentiment in the neighborhood, I think.”

Harvard spokesperson Brigid O’Rourke wrote in an emailed statement that “we continue to monitor the progress of discussions regarding the Brookline Machine site, and look forward to the ultimate determination and eventual transfer of the property.”

Allston resident Paul “Chip” Alford said he, too, has heard local grumbling on that score.

“I’ve heard that frustration voiced,” he said. “In general, when neighbors are hanging around the [Task Force] meetings, when they’re not chewing on pepperoni pizza.”