University Park at MIT
Encyclopedia
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
project in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, occupying land near Central Square
Central Square (Cambridge)
Central Square is an area in Cambridge, Massachusetts centered on the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Prospect Street and Western Avenue. , formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Columbia Street, Sidney Street and Main Street, is also considered a part of the Central Square area...
between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
(MIT) campus and the primarily residential neighborhood of Cambridgeport
Cambridgeport
Cambridgeport is one of the neighborhoods of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is bounded by Massachusetts Avenue, the Charles River, the Grand Junction Railroad, and River Street. The neighborhood contains predominantly residential homes, many of the triple decker style common in New England...
. It is a joint project of the City of Cambridge, MIT, and Forest City Enterprises
Forest City Enterprises
Forest City Enterprises is a $9-billion diversified real estate management and development company based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Its portfolio includes interests in retail centers, apartment communities, office buildings and mixed-use projects in the U.S...
.
History
The area presently known as University Park was originally an area of mostly marshy land along the Charles RiverCharles River
The Charles River is an long river that flows in an overall northeasterly direction in eastern Massachusetts, USA. From its source in Hopkinton, the river travels through 22 cities and towns until reaching the Atlantic Ocean at Boston...
. During the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, one area of higher land (now called Fort Washington
Fort Washington (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
Fort Washington is an historic site at 95 Waverly Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was built by the Continental Army under the orders of George Washington in November 1775. It is the oldest surviving fortification from the American Revolutionary War, built by American soldiers, and the only...
) was the site of a gun battery to guard against British naval raids.
In the 1850s, the Grand Junction Railroad
Grand Junction Railroad
The Grand Junction Railroad is an 8.55-mile long railroad in the Boston, Massachusetts area, connecting the railroads heading west and north from Boston...
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
F. A. Kennedy Steam Bakery
F. A. Kennedy Steam Bakery is an historic bakery at 129 Franklin Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts that first produced the Fig Newton.-History:...
, originator of the Fig Newton
Fig Newton
The Fig Newton is a Nabisco trademarked version of the ancient fig roll pastry filled with fig paste. Their unusual shape is a characteristic that has been adopted by many competitors including generic fig bars sold by most supermarkets.-History:...
, Necco
NECCO
Necco , pronounced "neck-o", is the acronym for the New England Confectionery Company, a manufacturer of candy. It was created in 1901 by the merger of several small confectionery companies located in the Greater Boston area; since December 2007 Necco has been owned by American Capital.The company...
, a Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Company
Sears, officially named Sears, Roebuck and Co., is an American chain of department stores which was founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck in the late 19th century...
shoe factory, and a Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
assembly plant.
In the 1960s, this part of Cambridge had been threatened by a proposed new highway, Interstate 695
Interstate 695 (Massachusetts)
The Inner Belt in Boston was a planned six-lane, limited-access highway that would have run through parts of Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, and Somerville.-History:...
. 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
Cambridgeport
Cambridgeport is one of the neighborhoods of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is bounded by Massachusetts Avenue, the Charles River, the Grand Junction Railroad, and River Street. The neighborhood contains predominantly residential homes, many of the triple decker style common in New England...
. 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
Tyco International
Tyco International Ltd. is a highly diversified global manufacturing company incorporated in Switzerland, with United States operational headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey...
.) 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 acres (109,265.2 m²) 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
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
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 biotechnologyBiotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
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
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. 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
Novartis
Novartis International AG is a multinational pharmaceutical company based in Basel, Switzerland, ranking number three in sales among the world-wide industry...
. At the opposite end of the city-designated "revitalization area", the former Ford plant near the Boston University Bridge
Boston University Bridge
The Boston University Bridge , and commonly referred to as the BU Bridge, is a steel truss bridge with a suspended deck carrying Route 2 over the Charles River, connecting Boston to Cambridge, Massachusetts. According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials route...
, originally built in 1913, has also been converted to office space.