BU to Contribute $694K for Affordable Housing Project

BU will finance a building renovation to create affordable housing units for Boston's homeless through their agreement with the city to build the South End's biolab.

Note: This article was updated to correct several inaccuracies, namely that the affordable housing would be built at 620 Albany Street - it is not, it will be built on Cortes Street in Bay Village. According to plans presented to the Boston Redevelopment Authority, BU plans to spend $694,000 renovate a building to create affordable housing units for Boston's homeless. The proposal submitted by BioSquare Realty Trust and Caritas Acquisitions LLC for the development was approved unanimously by the BRA last week. A separate entity will be developing the project; BU's link to the project is primarily financial per its agreement with the city when it was granted the right to build the biolab in the South End. The project involves the renovation…

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BU Biolab 'Minimal Threat' to South End, According to Federal Regulators

After a comprehensive analysis, the National Institutes of Health has declared the infectious disease research lab on Albany Street poses "minimal risk" to the surrounding community.

After years of opposition by the neighborhood, the Boston University biolab scored a victory this week through the approval of federal regulators that the lab poses "minimal risk" to the community.  Boston University’s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories located on Albany Street on BU's medical campus in the South End was built four years ago, but has been tied up in legal and other battles over whether or not the lab would be able to research some of the most deadly infectious substances known to man. For this latest approval, an independent panel of scientists from the National Research Council evaluated the scientific validity of the National Institute of Health risk assessment of the facility.  “The NIH conducted an …

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Professor: BU Biolab Risk Assessment Falls Short

The recent report on the BU biolab doesn't properly gauge the risk of terrorism, according to a Northeastern professor.

Review of BU's South End Biolab Gets Nod from Scientists

An independent scientific panel has said the latest federal assessment of the controversial project is significantly improved.

South End Biolab Granted Preliminary Approval

Residents have until Dec. 21 to submit public comments. A final decision will be issued Dec. 28.

Research at BU Biolab Could Begin Soon

BU is seeking a waiver to study pathogens like measles and mumps at the Albany Street facility.

Boston University’s controversial research laboratory on Albany Street could be used for lower-level research by the end of the calendar year if the university is granted a waiver by the state. Level 2 research, in which the standard safety equipment worn by scientists consists of a lab coat and gloves, is limited to the study of pathogens for which there is a known cure or those that are not spread through the air, Boston University officials explained at a neighborhood meeting on Tuesday. Some examples include measles, mumps and HIV.  Currently, no research is taking place in the university’s 200,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility, which was completed in 2008 and cost $200 million to build. For the past three years, the university…

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