Already, hints of life have returned along Western Avenue, buoying some residents and suggesting a renaissance is coming.
“It does stink that it’s kind of a ghost town down there,’’ said Cheryl Beaulieu, 48, who has lived in the neighborhood all her life. “But they’ve got a pizza place going in and a bakery, so there’s a little action.’’
Harvard leaders presented their ideas last night at a community meeting on the business school campus, attracting an audience of about 60 who heard about a proposal lacking specifics on size, cost, and a concrete schedule.
After 18 months of research, a team that included a majority of the university’s deans is urging Harvard’s president, Drew Faust, to redesign a stalled science complex.
The group is also pushing the university to create an enterprise research campus akin to MIT’s Kendall Square; to explore the potential for a conference center and hotel; and to develop stores, restaurants, and housing for faculty and graduate students.
“Why should we as a community support five to six developments when Harvard can’t follow through on one — the science center?’’ said Cathi Campbell, 43, who lives in Allston. “Do you actually care about the community? Because it certainly doesn’t feel that way.’’
Harvard owns 359 acres in Allston, almost double its Cambridge home base. The Allston campus was designed to significantly expand the university’s footprint in the life sciences.
But when the university’s endowment lost $11 billion in the recession, Harvard decided in late 2009 to halt work on the science complex.
“It seems like this is going to be on Harvard’s terms, not the community’s terms,’’ said Brent Whelan, 59, of Allston. “You have heard from us over and over again, and nothing happens. That’s why we don’t bring any trust to the table. I’m sick of hearing about everything you’ve done after you’ve done it.’’
