HRES proposes 2005-06 rents for Affiliated Housing

Proposed 2005-2006 rents for new affiliated residents who sign leases as of July 1, 2005:

Before setting the proposed 2005-2006 Affiliated Housing rents, Harvard Real Estate Services (HRES) established market rent through market research, which included an analysis of three years of market rents for more than 4,200 Cambridge and Somerville apartments listed with the Harvard Housing Office by non-Harvard property owners. HRES also examined an additional market study assessing current market rents, conducted by a Boston-based market appraisal company.

The result of this research was a recommendation that the overall market rent for Affiliated Housing should decrease, on average, by 1.5 percent starting on July 1, 2005. In support of Harvard’s fair market rent policy on a unit-by-unit basis, rent rates on some unit types will increase, some will decrease, and some will stay at their current levels.

The proposed new market rents have been reviewed by the Faculty Advisory Committee on Affiliated Housing* and will apply to affiliates who sign leases as of July 1, 2005. All revenues generated by Affiliated Housing in excess of operating expenses and debt service are used to fund capital improvements and renewal of the facilities in HRES’s existing portfolio.

The 1.5 percent decrease will be applied to base rents, before the addition of the cost of Harvard Internet service and electricity, which will now be included within the rent at many apartments (details are listed below). The inclusion of electricity as a new amenity will improve affiliates’ ease of relocating to Harvard. Market rate averages for Affiliated Housing apartments are listed below. Complexes that include utilities or Harvard Internet service in the rental prices are noted as such. New market rents will be stated on lease documents:

• 18 Banks/8A Mt. Auburn: one bedrooms $1,345-$1,435; two bedrooms $1,758-$1,818.
• Beckwith Circle (all utilities included): three bedrooms $1,819-$1,939; four bedrooms $2,197-$2,257.
• Botanic Gardens (all utilities and Harvard Internet service included): one bedrooms $1,274-$1,324; two bedrooms $1,700; three bedrooms $2,081.
• 472-474 Broadway (heat and hot water included): one bedrooms $1,346.
• DeWolfe Street (all utilities included): one bedrooms $1,521-$1,551; two bedrooms $1,837-$1,868; three bedrooms $2,567.
• 27 Everett Street (all utilities included): one bedrooms $1,297-$1,512; three bedrooms $2,156-$2,306.
• 29 Garden Street (all utilities and Harvard Internet service included): studios $1,000-$1,027; double studios $1,472-$1,556; two bedrooms $1,773-$1,793; three bedrooms $2,225-$2,256.
• Haskins Hall (all utilities included): studios $1,070; one bedrooms $1,257.
• Holden Green: one bedrooms $1,125-$1,310; two bedrooms $1,409-$1,534; three bedrooms $1,982.
• 2 Holyoke Street (all utilities included): one bedrooms $1,200-$1,310.
• Kirkland Court (all utilities included): one bedrooms $1,287-$1,397; two bedrooms $1,626-$1,811; three bedrooms $2,296-$2,386.
• 1306 Massachusetts Avenue (heat, hot water, and cooking gas included): studios $1,042; one bedrooms $1,325; two bedrooms $1,631.
• 65 Mt. Auburn Street (all utilities included): studios $1,160; one bedrooms $1,396-$1,456; two bedrooms $1,745.
• Peabody Terrace (all utilities and Harvard Internet included): studios $1,090-$1,119; one bedrooms $1,250-$1,278; two bedrooms $1,525-$1,558; three bedrooms $2,205
• 8 Plympton Street (all utilities included): studios $1,083-$1,133; one bedrooms $1,440; two bedrooms $1,773-$1,833; three bedrooms $2,325.
• 16 Prescott Street (heat and hot water included): studios $1,040; one bedrooms $1,238-$1,288.
• 18 Prescott Street (heat and hot water included): studios $1,040; one bedrooms $1,238.
• 20-20A Prescott Street (all utilities included): studios $1,082; one bedrooms $1,289-$1,399; two bedrooms $1,762; three bedrooms $2,301-$2,431; four bedrooms $2,476.
• 85-95 Prescott Street (all utilities included): studios $1,070-$1,120; one bedrooms $1,379.
• Shaler Lane: one bedrooms $1,242; two bedrooms $1,514-$1,589.
• Soldiers Field Park (all utilities and Harvard Internet included): studios $1,150-$1,240; one bedrooms $1,357-$1,447; two bedrooms $1,665-$1,816; three bedrooms $2,233-$2,318.
• Terry Terrace (all utilities and Harvard Internet included): studios $1,129-$1,159; one bedrooms $1,305-$1,426; two bedrooms $1,834.
• 9-13A Ware Street (all utilities included): studios $1,067; one bedrooms $1,274; two bedrooms $1,635.
• 19 Ware Street (heat and hot water included): two bedrooms $2,083; three bedrooms $2,249.
• One Western Avenue (all utilities and Harvard Internet included): studios $1,264; one bedrooms $1,535; two bedrooms $1,929-$1,989; three bedrooms $2,310.
• Wood Frame Buildings, Agassiz Area: studios $1,207; one bedrooms $1,328; two bedrooms $1,841; three bedrooms $1,860; four bedrooms $2,529; five bedrooms $2,581.
• Wood Frame Buildings, Harvard Square/Mid-Cambridge Area: studios $1,003; one bedrooms $1,177; two bedrooms $1,449.
• Wood Frame Buildings, Riverside Area: studios $922; one bedrooms $1,294; two bedrooms $1,457; three bedrooms $1,861.
  

  Proposed 2005-2006 Rents for Current Affiliated Residents Living in Affiliated Housing:

  The majority of current Affiliated residents who choose to extend their lease for another year will either receive no rent increase or will be charged the new market rent for their apartment, whichever rent is lower.

  “As a result of the slowdown in the economy, the market rental data indicated that, overall, rents for current residents who renew their leases for July 1 should remain the same or decrease slightly,” said Susan Keller, HRES’s director of Residential Real Estate. “Additionally, at many of our apartment complexes, the cost of electricity for lights and cooking will now be included in the rent. This new amenity will benefit many of our residents, who previously were required to pay for this utility directly.”

  The proposed rents for current Affiliated Housing residents have been reviewed by the Faculty Advisory Committee on Affiliated Housing* and will take effect July 1, for a term of one year, when the 2005-2006 rental season begins.

  Current Affiliated Housing residents will receive an e-mail from Harvard Real Estate Services in March with instructions on extending or terminating their lease. Residents who would like additional information or help in determining their continuing rent rates for 2005-2006 may call Harvard Real Estate Services’ Affiliated Leasing Office at (617) 495-1459.

  Proposed Increases for Continuing Former Rent Control Residents:

  Proposed rent increases for continuing former rent control residents who reside in Harvard’s properties will be announced in late March or early April.

  Written comments on the proposed rents may be sent to the Faculty Advisory Committee on Affiliated Housing, c/o Harvard Real Estate Services, 7 Holyoke St. – Mezzanine Level, Cambridge, MA 02138-6010. Comments to the committee may also be sent via e-mail to leasing@camail.harvard.edu. Any written comments should be submitted to either of the above addresses by Feb. 18, 2005.

  The comments received will be reviewed by the Faculty Advisory Committee, which includes Peter T. Ellison, dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences; William Hogan, Lucius N. Littauer Professor of Public Policy and Administration, John F. Kennedy School of Government; Jerold S. Kayden, Frank Backus Williams Professor of Urban Planning and Design, Graduate School of Design; Daniel P. Schrag, professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University; Howell Jackson, James S. Reid Jr. Professor of Law; and James Gray, associate vice president, Harvard Real Estate Services (chair), Harvard University.

  After the comments are reviewed and considered, the final rent schedule will be published in February.

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  * In keeping with the University’s fair market rent policy that was established in 1983 by a faculty committee chaired by Professor Archibald Cox, the rents for Affiliated Housing are set at prevailing market rates. The original faculty committee determined that market rate pricing was the fairest method of allocating apartments and that setting rents for Affiliated Housing below market rate would be a form of financial aid that should be determined by each individual school, not via the rent-setting process. Additionally, the cost of housing should be considered when financial aid is determined.