Word: hre
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...SEVERAL MONTHS, the Harvard-owned Craigie Arms apartment complex has stood vacant on Mt. Auburn St. Harvard Real Estate (HRE), which manages the University's vast holdings in Cambridge, has a $2.5-million renovation planned to convert the deteriorating, 85-year-old building to primarily luxury housing. But the city's rent control board has twice refused to issue HRE the permits it needs to remove Craigie's 59 low-and moderate-income units from Cambridge's tight rental market...
...weeks ago, officials confirmed that an assessment prepared by HRE employees in February 1981 lists only $156,000 in repairs needed at the building. Although both HRE and tenant activists agree that more work would have to be done at Craigie to make the structure habitable, the 1981 report lends new credence to the position that Harvard's renovation plans are excessive. Even if three times the $156,000 mentioned were spent, rents at Craigie would rise by only about $100, leaving them well within the reach of the tenants who occupied the building until this fall...
...HRE officials readily admit that their interest in Craigie is "long-range," they say Harvard bought the property because of its proximity to the rest of the University. The current renovation plan is an optimal means to that end--the "new" Craigie would be owned by the developer, with the University profiting from a long-term ground lease while retaining control over the valuable plot itself. That means no responsibility as a landlord...
...contrary, HRE was quite pleased by the Rent Board's action, because one of HRE's stated intentions at the time it installed the thermopane windows in the building was to conserve energy and save money for our tenants...
...HRE applauds the Rent Control Board's reaffirmation of its support for building owners who make energy-saving capital expenditures. Robert Silverman Vice President, Harvard Real Estate...