Beacon Hill garden row
WHETHER BY means of physical buffers or meetings of the mind, successful cities find ways to resolve competing and even incompatible land uses. That's the challenge now on Beacon Hill, where Suffolk University proposes to build a 31-story dormitory on Somerset Street.
The usual concerns over height, shadows, and design are all in play. But the situation is more poignant due to opposition from relatives of Massachusetts homicide victims, who created a memorial in 2004 on abutting land behind the former Saltonstall building. Founders of the Garden of Peace fear that the addition of a high-rise dormitory and the comings and goings of hundreds of students would destroy the cherished space where the names of the slain are inscribed on stones arranged along a dry stream bed.
Boston's economy benefits enormously from the presence of its universities. But there are strains, as well. The Menino administration advocates a sensible policy that encourages institutions to house their students in dormitories to lessen pressure on the city's housing stock. Whether in Allston, Mission Hill, or Beacon Hill, families are hard-pressed to compete for apartments with groups of students who pool their rent money. Suffolk University houses barely one-fifth of its students in dorms, low by any standard. The university's need for new dorm rooms is legitimate. And while the proposed project may prove too large, the site is appropriate given the presence of nearby high-rises.
The university has a long way to go to convince both Garden of Peace supporters and civic groups that the dormitory can be a good neighbor. Members of the Beacon Hill Civic Association are concerned with Suffolk's spotty record of controlling the behavior of its students. As the university seeks to increase its dormitory space, it must also greatly expand its ability to ensure that students do not disrupt the lives of their neighbors. Some of these concerns are starting to be addressed by the university, including a plan for university officials to create and participate in neighborhood watch groups.
It may be harder still to win over the supporters of the Garden of Peace. The university, in conjunction with the state, has offered to retire the debt on the garden property in addition to Suffolk's offer of $700,000 for landscaping and design. But the offers are perceived as offensive by garden supporters who believe that a dorm next door would still be a desecration.
Nothing can fully mitigate the pain borne by the loved ones of murder victims. But Suffolk Law School and other departments could be pressed to provide expertise, research, volunteers, and resources that might one day prevent other acts of violence. Such an outcome would greatly enhance the Garden of Peace, even one with hundreds of students living next door.
