The Boston Redevelopment Authority partially approved Boston College’s 10-year Institutional Master Plan Thursday, but held their decision on a controversial aspect of the plan that would turn land purchased from the Catholic Archdiocese into a 150 room dormitory in a Brighton residential area.
That specific dorm proposal will be studied further, according to a Jan. 29 Boston Herald article. Another dorm proposal, which will turn 2000 Commonwealth Ave. into a 560-bed dormitory was approved. The $1.6 billion plan was submitted by Boston College to the BRA on June 20, 2008, according to the master plan website.
Boston College students and members of Brighton Neighbors United crowded together in city hall with clashing ‘I Support BC’ pins and ‘Boston Neighbors United’ stickers to put forth hours of testimony before the BRA voted.
BC junior Jeff Keady said he lives off campus because BC does not guarantee housing, and that Brighton residents should not minimize the positive aspects BC students add to the community, he said.
‘I don’t think they realize how much we give back,’ Keady explained. ‘Last year, when I was a sophomore, I tutored at Brighton High School for fifteen hours a week.’
Brighton resident John Hoffman supported BC’s master plan with a petition containing 250 signatures of Allston-Brighton residents who were for the plan. Other residents criticized the plan at the meeting, predicting college students would disrupt their neighborhoods.
The approved aspects of the plan include a recreation center, four academic buildings and athletic facilities.
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