Word: hre
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...things are clear--Harvard is the largest landlord in Cambridge. It owns a total of about 2500 commercial and residential properties, 900 of which fall under the domain of the Cambridge Rent Control Board. And HRE still loses money. "One of the main reasons HRE is not making money because of our accumulated losses," Robert Silverman, HRE vice-president, says, adding, "For years Harvard was charging tenants too little money year after year...
...University officials do not plan to get out of the real estate game. In fact, most say they are pleased with HRE's performance so far, despite complaints from tenants, city officials, and businessmen that Harvard is one of the worst landlords in the city. Cambridge mayor Francis H. Duehay '55 explains that while Harvard often provides help in commercial development, "the University is not always a particularly good landlord in maintenance." And David Vickery, director of the city's development department worries that despite Harvard's vast financial resources, many of its operating practices are "disturbing...
...real estate operation. "I have heard those remarks about us being bad landlords, too," Wyatt says, "but I have also heard from those same people that maintainence is better now than at any time in the last 10 years." Wyatt, who headed the committee that originally recommended HRE's establishment, adds that he is "delighted" with HRE's performance so far, though he notes that "there is still a good deal of work to be done." That work, he says, mainly involves "getting the property back into good condition...
Harvard had two main objectives in mind when it decided to form HRE, Thomas O'Brien, vice president for financial affairs and a member of Wyatt's committee, explains: "We wanted not to lose money and to provide decent housing for our own students and the community in general." On the first score HRE has failed and according to Silverman, it has little hope of success for at least "several years." The second point continues to be debated by Harvard officials, who perceive improvement, and tenants, who see erratic heating systems, poor insulation, slipshod workmanship, and inflated rents...
Harvard is meeting undisputed success, however, in its effort to reach a goal not explicitly mentioned when HRE was formed, but also implied by O'Brien and confirmed by the University's actions. "In the long run the University may have the need to use its properties in other ways that they are currently being used. You have to be very careful with this statement because we don't have any specific plans to convert properties now and there are no secret plans for the future," O'Brien says, adding, "When property is available at a reasonable price...