BC wins nod on expansion, dorm stalled

After a nearly four-hour meeting filled with appeals on both sides, the Boston Redevelopment Authority unanimously approved the bulk of the college's development blueprint over the next decade, including new dormitory space for nearly 800 students and a 1,000-seat baseball stadium, both of which many Brighton neighbors strongly oppose.

It also approved BC's plans to convert a high-rise apartment building about a third of a mile from the Jesuit university's main Chestnut Hill campus into a dormitory for 560 students, as well as student and recreation centers, and several academic buildings.

Following public testimony at the Boston City Hall meeting featuring deep concern over the prospect of the Brighton dormitory, BRA director John Palmieri recommended the board approve the overall expansion plan and ask BC to consider alternative sites.

Jack Dunn, a spokesman for Boston College, said he was disappointed by the decision to table the 150-student dorm plan and said it will hinder the college's goal of housing all of its undergraduates on campus. He pointed out that the community task force that reviewed the plan backed the dormitory, as did many elected officials who represent the neighborhood.

With the board's backing, BC's plan clears a major hurdle, but individual construction projects will face further scrutiny.

Neighbors have long urged the college to build more dormitories, saying students who live in off-campus apartments are often rowdy and disruptive.

"The only way to improve the quality of life in our neighborhood is to get these students out of our neighborhoods and onto campus," said state Representative Michael Moran, Democrat of Brighton.

But many oppose building dormitories near their homes on the quiet Brighton property, bordered by Commonwealth Avenue and Lake Street, saying they are essentially extending the campus into the neighborhood.

"We want them on campus, not in the middle of our neighborhood," said Lisa Lieberman, a Brighton resident.

College officials have maintained that the main campus is too dense for more student housing and that building dormitories in Brighton is necessary to reach their goal of providing campus housing for all undergraduates who seek it. They also view the expansion as critical to BC's future and its goal of becoming one of the nation's most elite colleges.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who has staunchly opposed dormitories in Brighton, said through a spokesman who addressed the hearing that the 150-student dormitory should be tabled for further study. Boston College had previously agreed to search for other sites for a 350-student dormitory initially slated for Brighton.

BC officials said the expansion plan would generate some 12,000 jobs, and representatives from several trade unions spoke in favor of the proposal. BC's plan also includes student and recreation centers, academic buildings, and new athletic fields.

Eva Webster, a neighbor who supported the plan, said the university housing would help a neighborhood that now "suffers from student rentals."

"I see a great future for Brighton when BC houses all of its students," she said.

Melissa Roberts, a BC senior, said students would prefer to live on campus and only seek apartments out of necessity.

"Everyone I know would choose to live on campus, given the choice," she said.

But many neighbors said the Brighton campus was an inappropriate place for dorms and athletic facilities.

"It will place a serious burden on the community," said Abigail Furey, who urged the board to reject the college's request for zoning changes, included in the overall plan. "You'll take away the only protection we have to maintain our neighborhoods and quality of life."

Task force members who previously opposed the Brighton dorm but decided to support the plan angered many neighbors.

"It's impossible to please everyone with a development of this size," said Jean Woods, co-chairwoman of the task force.