Institutional Master Plan (Draft)

On January 11, 2007, Harvard unveiled a vision for its future, filing with the City of Boston a proposed Institutional Master Plan for the first stage of the physical evolution of an interdisciplinary campus in Allston.

The Plan for Harvard in Allston (Draft), Executive Summary (Acrobat PDF format, 12.4 Mb)

Institutional Master Plan Amendment

On December 15, 2006, Harvard filed an Institutional Master Plan (IMP) Amendment with the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) to seek approval to add the Allston Science Complex and the Harvard University Art Museums Art Center to the current Institutional Master Plan for Harvard’s Allston Campus. The BRA will accept comments on the IMP Amendment until February 16, 2007.

2006 IMP Amendment Filing (Acrobat PDF format, 82Mb)

The Institutional Master Plan Notification Form was submitted to the BRA in April 2006.
2006 IMP Notification Form (Acrobat PDF format, 9Mb)

On April 28, 2006, Harvard filed an Institutional Master Plan Notification Form (IMPNF) with the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) to initiate the process of amending Harvard’s Allston Campus Institutional Master Plan to accommodate the first science and arts/culture projects that were announced in February. The BRA will accept comments on the IMPNF until June 2, 2006.

2006 IMP Public Notice (Acrobat PDF format, 11Kb)

2006 IMP Notification Form (Acrobat PDF format, 9Mb)

 

What is an Institutional Master Plan?

As defined by the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) publication, A Citizen's guide to Development Review under Article 80 of the Boston Zoning Code, an Institutional Master Plan is a "comprehensive development plan that describes an institution's existing facilities, long-range planning goals, and proposed projects." Institutions must update and renew Institutional Master Plans periodically and must amend them whenever a change or addition, of a minimum threshold, is proposed. Institutions can renew an existing Institutional Master Plan without change, if no new projects are being proposed.

The City instituted an institutional master plan review to ensure that new development proposed by colleges, universities, hospitals, and other non profits is connected to public service and economic development activities that enhance the surrounding community, and the City as a whole.

Harvard's Allston Institutional Master Plan

Harvard's Allston Institutional Master Plan describes the University's five-year development program for the existing Allston campus, an area that encompasses the Harvard Business School, the athletic facilities used and managed by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and some administrative and support facilities that serve the University.

The University has been filing Institutional Master Plans for the Allston campus since 1989. The most recent Plan dates to 1997 and includes such projects as the Spangler Center and Hawes Hall at the Harvard Business School and graduate student housing at One Western Avenue. In 2002, the University amended the Institutional Master Plan to include two existing facilities, 1230 Soldiers Field Road and 25 Travis Street. Later in 2002, the University renewed without change the amended 1997 Plan.

1998 Master Plan Supplement (Acrobat PDF format, 12 Mb)

1997 Master Plan (Acrobat PDF format, 3.7Mb)

Harvard Allston Community Task Force

For more than a decade, the University has been working with a Campus Task Force comprised of Allston-Brighton residents and members of the business community. The role of the Campus Task Force is to review the proposed Institutional Master Plan, and make a recommendation about the adequacy of the plan to the BRA Board for approval. In addition, the Campus Task Force evaluates each campus project that qualifies for more detailed review to determine the consistency of the project with the Institutional Master Plan itself.

»Task Force meeting announcements and member list