University Park at MIT

University Park at MIT is a mixed-use urban renewal project in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, occupying land near Central Square between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) campus and the primarily residential neighborhood of Cambridgeport. It is a joint project of the City of Cambridge, MIT, and Forest City Enterprises.

History

The area presently known as University Park was originally an area of mostly marshy land along the Charles River. During the American Revolutionary War, one area of higher land (now called Fort Washington) was the site of a gun battery to guard against British naval raids.

In the 1850s, the Grand Junction Railroad built a line along what was then the swampy edge of the river. The nearby marshes were filled, and the area became home to a number of manufacturing plants. These included the Simplex Wire & Cable Company, the Kennedy Biscuit Company (the originator of the Fig Newton), NECCO, a Sears shoe factory, and a Ford assembly plant.

In the 1960s, this part of Cambridge had been threatened by a proposed new highway, Interstate 695. The highway would have been routed along the western boundary of the area that is now University Park and required the demolition of many homes in the adjacent area of Cambridgeport. Plans for building the highway were eventually dropped because of community opposition.

Simplex, owner of the largest parcel of land, left Cambridge in 1969. (The company later became a unit of Tyco International.) The Simplex property was then acquired by MIT. Most of the buildings were razed in the 1970s, leaving a large area of overgrown vacant lots that languished for many years while MIT tried to find a use for the 27-acre property. Serious planning began in 1983 with MIT's selection of Forest City Enterprises to develop the land, and approval of a city master plan for the area. Construction started in 1985.

For some years afterwards, the site was the subject of protests by community activists who objected to MIT's plans for gentrification of the neighborhood, and wanted the development to include more affordable housing as well as to preserve the remaining businesses and historic buildings in the area. Final zoning approval for the project was given by the city in January, 1988.

University Park today

University Park is a mixed-use development, comprising a combination of office and laboratory buildings that are home to several biotechnology companies, residential developments, retail areas, and parks and open space. While MIT continues to own the land, Forest City holds long-term leases. The last new building on the MIT-owned land was completed in 2005.

The project includes 668 rental apartments, more than was originally planned, as demand for housing in Cambridge outstripped that for office space by the time of the project's completion. Much of the housing is concentrated on the west side of the redevelopment area, bordering the established residential areas in Cambridgeport. Other residential units include a high-rise apartment tower and an MIT graduate student dormitory.

The Kennedy Biscuit building was preserved and converted to loft housing; it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The former shoe factory building was converted to office space.

Some of the other older buildings in the area adjacent to the MIT-owned property have also been renovated. The former NECCO building now houses a unit of Novartis. At the opposite end of the city-designated "revitalization area", the former Ford plant near the Boston University Bridge, originally built in 1913, has also been converted to office space.

References

* [http://www.universityparkliving.com/home/default.asp University Park Website]
* [http://www.ci.cambridge.ma.us/CDD/cp/zng/cport/index.html City of Cambridge Cambridgeport Revitalization Plan]
* [http://www.kblliving.com/default.asp Kennedy Biscuit Lofts]
* [http://www-tech.mit.edu/V110/N3/upark.03n.html UPark housing units open]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE3DC1E3CF931A25757C0A961948260 Cambridge group takes on M.I.T] (The New York Times, April 12, 1987)