Town, Gown Face Housing Shortage

Cambridge is putting the pressure on Harvard to house more graduate students in University-owned buildings in order to free up housing units for local residents facing rising rents.

Complying with a City Council request, representatives from the University appeared before Cambridge's Housing and Development Committee last night to describe Harvard's impact on the city's current housing shortage.

The hearing followed a meeting this week in which councillors explored ways to extract more taxes from the University.

Three Harvard officials appeared before the council to present a "housing impact statement," which includes statistics on how many students are currently competing for space in the Cambridge housing market.

The council requested the statements from both Harvard and MIT because of a concern that students were further constricting what is already a tight housing market. Students compete for space with low-income Cantabrigians who have been increasingly driven out of the city after the end of rent control in 1996.

Harvard houses 60 percent of its total student body (including graduate students) in University-owned housing, a higher proportion than any other Boston-area university, according to Mary Power, Harvard's director of community relations.

However, while Harvard reportedly houses 99 percent of its undergraduate students, only 38 percent of graduate students live in Harvard-owned property. It is the 3,197 graduate students competing for Cambridge housing that councillors said they are concerned about.

Harvard's report last night discussed the possibility of constructing more graduate housing facilities, proposing a new building with room for 418 beds on the corner of Soldiers Field Road and Western Avenue in Allston.

Vice Mayor Anthony D. Galluccio said the construction of new buildings by Harvard would be as contentious as the current competition for affordable housing by students.

But Power said Harvard has limited options, noting that almost any solution would have its detractors.

"New construction is always controversial," Power said. "It's especially controversial for the institution."

Affordable housing has been a top priority--and a divisive issue--for the city council this year.

Some believe that by abandoning restrictive zoning and welcoming developments, Cambridge can supply more housing, thus reducing the market price.

Others worry that large developments destroy the character of Cambridge.

Just as much as they do not want to see long-time Cantabrigians move away, some councillors do not want to see city neighborhoods dominated by condominiums. The council has passed a down-zoning measure Monday night to protect one residential block from development.

Participants in last night's meeting said they will continue discussions of the University's housing plans in a series of informal talks this month.

The housing impact statement, requested by the city for the first time this year, is expected to be an annual report to the council. MIT is expected to give its statement to the council later this month.