Harvard to halt construction in Allston

Harvard University President Drew Faust announced Thursday a plan to “pause” construction of the school’s Allston Science Complex, starting this spring. The timeline for the delay will correspond with the completion of the project’s first phase, Faust stated in a letter to the university.

“The altered financial landscape of the university, and of the wider world, necessitates a shift away from rapid development in Allston, and thus requires a simultaneous commitment to a program of active stewardship of Harvard properties,” Faust wrote.

Harvard lost 27.3 percent of its endowment between June 30, 2008, and June 30 of this year, dropping from $36 billion to $26 billion over that one-year period. As a result, the university has been going through a series of cost-cutting measures, including a deep round of layoffs.

Faust said Harvard officials this week reviewed the options for the Allston complex that have been developed over the past 10 months, the cost projections and the short-term alternatives for accommodating scientific programs elsewhere in both Boston and Cambridge.

“We concluded that the most prudent course is to delay the next phase of construction while continuing a rigorous analysis of strategies for resumed activity, including co-development,” she wrote.

Faust noted that she had warned of the Allston project delay in a letter she wrote to the university last February, characterizing Thursday’s news as “anticipated.”

To date, the first phase of the Allston project has been completed, with the foundation of the Allston Science Complex constructed to ground level, 8,000 tons of structural steel put in place, along with several spaces for laboratory support and power generation. In addition, she said, the street-level concrete deck is nearing completion.

Faust said the delay would not slow Harvard’s momentum in the life sciences, adding that the university makes strategic investments in research facilities in both Boston and Cambridge and continues to pursue research, recruit life sciences faculty and “sharpen” the region’s competitiveness in attracting federal funds.

In her letter, Faust reassured Allston residents that Harvard would keep its obligations to its neighbors in mind, and said the university’s presence in Allston moving forward would manifest in three phases: property stewardship and community engagement; campus planning and greening; and campus development.

In terms of property stewardship, Faust said, Harvard will focus on improvements, aggressive leasing of vacant or partially vacant Harvard properties, and community engagement.