Lesley & its neighbors - collaboration not negotiation

Back in April I wrote about Lesley University's vow to not repeat the mistakes that Harvard made dealing with Cambridge neighbors.

Based on today's story in the Globe - Neighbors help Lesley design its new dorms - Lesley really is working together with its neighbors and reporter Peter Schworm is absolutely right that this is "a sharp contrast to the ongoing tussles over expansions at Boston College, Northeastern, and Harvard."

The project's architect "said the final project is superior to the original" even though Lesley will probably lose money on the commercial shops that were added to the first floor of one building. I've met residents who are active in this part of Cambridge and they are no pushovers.

How great (an unimaginable to some) would it be for Drew Faust or William Leahy to feel this way?
Lesley president Joseph B. Moore praised the neighbors' dedication and said he agreed with their resolve to have the buildings blend with the neighborhood. "It wasn't negotiations, it was collaboration," he said.

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