Nick J. Grieco, a guitarist, is known by his friends as the one among them that continued to live in Allston after the rest moved elsewhere.
Nick J. Grieco moved to Boston in 2006 for his first year at the Berklee College of Music and relocated to Allston soon after. Fourteen years later, heâs still there. Even after watching friends move to other cities, he chose Allston as the place to build his network and launch his music career.
âI think my circles of friends that left before â they totally see me as the guy who stayed,â Grieco says.
Grieco stays for the same reasons that compelled him to settle in Allston in the first place: He recognized the opportunities a diverse neighborhood with a rich arts scene could offer a young guitarist early in his career. Allston, known by some as âRock City,â has been a creative hub since the â60s, cultivating a punk and alternative rock scene that bred the likes of Aerosmith.
As the University forges ahead with construction in Allston, some residents said they are worried about how the new projects â the Enterprise Research Campus and a development at 180 Western Ave. â will impact neighborhood stability and affordability.
Anthony P. DâIsidoro â a member of the Harvard-Allston Task Force and president of the Allston Civics Association â said that affordable home ownership is among his chief concerns.
Allston has a reputation of being a âtransient community,â where people come for education and then move out to the suburbs to buy a home, according to DâIsidoro.
He said he hopes new developments will help âreverse these negative trendsâ and provide more âstabilityâ in Allston.