Harvard Exits 2 Leases Amid Fight Over Federal Funding
Harvard University's public health school has exited two leases in commercial properties in an early sign of how the institution's battle with the Trump administration could impact its vast real estate footprint.
The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health said it would lay off employees and consolidate its campus footprint, The Harvard Crimson first reported.
The school plans to exit two leases in the Fenway and Mission Hill due to its fight with the Trump administration over billions in funding for research and other programs, a spokesperson confirmed to Bisnow.
The two leases are at Weston Associates' 90 Smith St. in Mission Hill and Alexandria Real Estate Equities' Landmark Building in the Fenway. The landlords didn't respond to Bisnow's requests for comment.
"Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health faces a significant budget crisis due to the federal funding freeze, terminations of important research grants, and threats to international student enrollment," Dean of Communications Stephanie Simon wrote in a statement to Bisnow.
"School leadership is working with department chairs and administrative directors to identify strategic priorities and make sustainable budget cuts. We are working to minimize the impact on our outstanding workforce while protecting the heart of our research and educational missions," she added.
Simon said the federal funding freeze is only just starting to be felt by the school, with additional layoffs likely to happen soon.
HSPH moved into Landmark Center in the Fenway more than 23 years ago, at the time taking up 55K SF. More recently, the institution occupied the fourth floor in the building with roughly 40K SF of lab and classroom space, the Crimson reported.
The school also moved into 39K SF at 90 Smith St. in 2010 as the owner of the building was in the process of trying to redevelop the property to include hundreds of new housing units. The office building was renovated the same year the school moved into the building.
The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is home to 1,361 students, 497 faculty members and over 25 research centers, according to its website. Its main buildings are located in the Mission Hill neighborhood at 651 and 677 Huntington Ave.
HSPH is the most reliant on federal funds of any Harvard school, and it has already received stop-work orders worth more than $60M, the Crimson reported.
The leases and layoffs are just some of the ripple effects of the battle between the Trump administration and the oldest educational institution in the country.
The conflict escalated when the administration announced it would review the school's $9B in federal funding, arguing the institution was overrun by antisemitism and leftist ideology.
By mid-April, the administration sent a letter to Harvard demanding it reform hiring, admissions and governance and allow the federal government to oversee its operations. Harvard pushed back against the letter, resulting in the freezing of $2.2B in funding and an additional $1B at risk for health research.
The administration also threatened to revoke the school's tax-exempt status.
Losing its tax-exempt status would force the institution that owns and leases nearly 873 acres of land across Eastern Massachusetts to pay a huge new property tax bill, the Boston Globe reported. The institution is also developing its long-planned Enterprise Research Campus, which started its first 900K SF phase in November 2023 in partnership with Tishman Speyer.
The university on Monday filed a lawsuit against the federal government due to its "broad attack on the critical funding partnership."
"These actions have stark real-life consequences for patients, students, faculty, staff, researchers, and the standing of American higher education in the world," Harvard University President Alan Garber said in a statement about the matter.
