How much of Boston does Boston University own? (Brockton, Somerville: suburbs, land)

[Joe Bama!]

Originally Posted by lrfox

Ronwell Pudding over at Archboston.com posted this link that gives actual percentages: http://www.cityofboston.gov/bra/PDF/...s//pdr_562.pdf (It's a PDF file). Turns out that not only does BU not on 50% of the land in Boston, but ALL of the Higher Education and Medical institutions combined only amount to owning 2% (!!) of Boston's total land. 35% of Boston's land is residential and 26% is State owned. 15% is commercial and 14% is city-owned. That's the breakdown for you.

But doesn't BU own residential buildings?

[1979]

Originally Posted by Joe Bama!

Yeah these colleges have been ripping your city off. But at least your city isn't investing in 2 new baseball stadiums.
Colleges and hospitals have proven to be the most beneficial to a city's economy and stability.

I don't see how colleges have been proven to be the most beneficial to any cities economy?? College are not taxed, and students usually don't have much money to spend. College students will go to a sports game such as a red sox game, or a patriots game, and literally "trash" the area, sometimes to the point of having swat teams of police come in to stop the meyhem. We had a girl get shot outside Fenway Park a couple of years ago. College students litter, play loud music in their cars, which they speed way over the speed limit through residential neighborhoods. As someone who has lived in the biggest college city most of my life, I will tell you first hand, students use the communities they live in as a giant playground--they trash it; graffiti/vandalism, parties all night, alcohol and drug use abounds. Administration of colleges and universities will frequently uses all their academic wisdom to tone down or squelch all the problems they cause from the media.

And interesting situation is happening in Providence,RI where there will be a reasonably large amount of acerage freed up when the highways are moved over water within the next couple years. Brown Univ, Johnson & Wales, are already trying to purchase this valuable land rendering it tax free. Brown Univ, Johnson & Wales, are literally buying up everything that isn't bolted down. It is terrible!

Not sure where the idea of hospitals being beneficial to a cities economy comes from? From the employees? Most are going bust due to too many illegals flooding the emergency rooms and admissions. Most hospitals are operating in the red.

Also, there are those high powered big wigs that would love to knock down Fenway Park and build a much larger baseball field, displacing other businesses if allowed to.

[1979]

Originally Posted by HowGoesIt

Boston proper is about 90 sq miles, whereas New York City (all 5 boroughs) are 470 sq miles. I haven't heard of BU buying up more land, but I have heard about Harvard University buying up some land in Allston and Brighton (both Boston proper).

Not sure where these numbers came from? Boston is approximately 44 sq miles, New York with all 5 boroughs is 300 sq miles.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by Joe Bama!

But doesn't BU own residential buildings?

If they're owned by BU, then they're not private residential buildings, They're university buildings and as such are considered university property even if they house students. If BU buys an old hotel or apartment building (which they have done), then it is no longer commercial or residential, it's university property (and as such, is tax exempt).

[lrfox]

Colleges are beneficial in that they attract businesses and future residents to the area. The two biggest examples of this are Boston's biotech industry and the financial sector. If it weren't for the colleges pumping out the educated workforce in the manner that they are, those industries wouldn't be here (or at least not in the volume that they are). The colleges are also part of the reason the healthcare in Boston is among the best in the world. Many of the city's premier facilities are training facilities for the sheer number of students in the medical and pharmicutical industries and the residents of the area reap the rewards. You could make the argument (and many people do) that Boston is one of the better cities to be in during the recession because of the steadyiness of the industries attracted to the area because of the colleges.

It's tough to argue that that college kids don't bring in businesses either. Today's student, especially one at Harvard, BU, Northeastern has some moeny to spend. Many of the retail and nightlife businesses are afloat due to the number of college students (and young professionals that the colleges produce). I would also argue that the presence of colleges helps neighborhoods by bringing life and people in, not hurts them; especially outside of Downtown Boston. Sure, there may be some noise, but how nice do you thing Harvard Sq. would be without the University and Students? Would it even exist?

[dem3456]

Originally Posted by JHG722

Still not great considering how much tuition is.

What college did you go to in Boston? I remember you saying that you came here for school and hated it. Could it have possibly been BU?

[1979]

Originally Posted by lrfox

Colleges are beneficial in that they attract businesses and future residents to the area. The two biggest examples of this are Boston's biotech industry and the financial sector. If it weren't for the colleges pumping out the educated workforce in the manner that they are, those industries wouldn't be here (or at least not in the volume that they are). The colleges are also part of the reason the healthcare in Boston is among the best in the world. Many of the city's premier facilities are training facilities for the sheer number of students in the medical and pharmicutical industries and the residents of the area reap the rewards. You could make the argument (and many people do) that Boston is one of the better cities to be in during the recession because of the steadyiness of the industries attracted to the area because of the colleges.

Point taken. But I think Boston is an exception. The colleges have been here for a few hundred years, since the birth of this nation, and their legacy is entrenched in the business here. I don't think you could make the same argument for many other cities though. Also, in RI I think Rhode Island College and Providence College have ruined the Elmhurst section of Providence. I don't think many college graduates, particularly from Brown stay once they have graduated. And again, these colleges own extensive amounts of land that don't contribute to the tax base. With states like Mass & RI running deep in the red, and considering these college keep expanding, I think this is a significant issue.

[lrfox]

^I hear you. My family grew up on George St. In Providence's East Side. All of our neighbors homes (except for a few) are now Brown University Property (In fact, I think our old home may be owned by Brown as of the past few months). There are far fewer residents in that area than there used to be.

Your point about Boston being an exception is true, but I think it applies to most cities with very old colleges. One good argument I've heard made before is that urban colleges should be urged to build densely in the space that they already own (read: build upward, not outward) so as to leave nearby land for taxable owners. Northeastern, BU, Suffolk and Emmerson (and MIT to a degree) follow this trend by building dorm towers and building upward over existing buildings (see Emmerson's Paramount Center). When colleges build massive low-level campuses on city land, they're essentially creating tax-free suburban sprawl within the city and occupying land that could otherwise provide a tax base. In short, if "College A" needs new 500 dorm rooms, they should be encouraged to build a 500 room dorm tower (something in the range of 250-300ft) on a half acre parcel of land instead of building ten 3 story buildings over 15 acres.

Harvard's expansion (proposal on page one of this thread) in Allston is a prime example of what's bad about these colleges current expansions. The plane calls for low rise, low density redevelopment of hundreds of acres of land. The issue is that the Allston neighbors would also be against any taller, denser buildings that take up less space because they'd "cast shadows" and other nonsense. Not allowing colleges to expand is a bad idea, however, they need to have controlled expansions (i.e. density, utilize the space they own to the maximum potential instead of expanding outwards).

Something's got to give. I feel that the communities and colleges should try to find some middle ground, but that will take some serious effort on both parts.

[Yo!]

The colleges and universities atract year round employment in and around the schools.

[JHG722]

Originally Posted by dem3456

What college did you go to in Boston? I remember you saying that you came here for school and hated it. Could it have possibly been BU?

Yes, I attended BU briefly.