About 14,000 students go to Northeastern. Unfortunately, there aren’t 14,000 places for them to sleep. Powers that be, I’m gonna tell you straight up: If you ever want your school to become relevant, you need housing for each and every one of your students.

Dorms equal dough. Then again, you already know this. Building West Village was a master stroke. I bet you’re still feeling the green. But you shouldn’t be satisfied yet. You should be asking yourself one question: Where do we go from here?

It’s a good question. You can build on Columbus Lot, but you probably want to avoid that side of the tracks. You can turn the entire YMCA into student housing, but that’s not going to solve the problem.

Eventually, you have to make a real move.

The plan I’m about to detail is more radical than anything you’ve ever considered. It’s also a lot better than anything you’ve ever considered.

The Red Sox owners are a shrewd financial group. If you don’t believe me, take a look at John Henry’s track record in the Global Futures market. If that’s not enough, analyze how the Red Sox have been tweaking every last dollar out of Fenway. Then take a look at how they’ve been constructing an economically-viable team through statistics. I’d describe it all if I had more space.

At any rate, since they took over a few years ago, the Red Sox bigwigs have been amassing any real estate they can get their hands on. Recent acquisitions include WBCN’s studio, a McDonald’s, the Town Taxi Garage and a defunct Latino dance club. Any guesses why they might be doing this?

I think it’s pretty obvious. The Red Sox know Fenway Park is an extremely valuable asset. To maximize its value, they’re doing two things. First, they’re putting a competitive product on the field. Second, they’re trying to revitalize the surrounding area,