Many states have cut back funding for higher education in recent years, and securing money for new housing has been tougher than ever for many colleges and universities. A recent residence hall project in Boston involving three colleges provides an inspiring example of how necessity can spawn invention in financing strategies.
Massachusetts College of Art and Design, a state school, partnered with its neighbors Wentworth Institute of Technology and Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (now MCPHS University, and known locally as Mass Pharma), both private institutions, to construct its Tree House residence hall. Making the deal pencil out required some deft real estate maneuvers.
First, Wentworth transferred a parking lot to MassArt to allow the site to be expanded. Next, Wentworth and MCPHS University contributed $700,000 toward the cost of building out a student health center that all three schools now share. Then MCPHS agreed to sublease a substantial number of the building’s 17 residence floors to house its students, which helped to defray MassArt’s costs. The last step saw Mass-Art secure state funding to complete the financing for the $54 million project.
“The project wouldn’t have happened without the participation of Wentworth and Mass Pharma,” says Kurt Steinberg, who was appointed Acting President of MassArt in August. The 21-story, 145,600-sf structure is located amid pricey real estate near renowned museums and the Longwood Medical District. Boston’s construction costs are among the nation’s highest.
© Chuck Choi
Steinberg says the college didn’t want Tree House to upend the pricing structure of MassArt’s campus housing. “Our goal was to not have the new beds be more expensive than the beds in our other two residence halls,” he says. Mass Pharma leases 260 of the 493 beds; a portion of the rent—$1,000 per bed—goes toward housing scholarships for MassArt students.
The 20-year lease gives MassArt the option to take over the space now occupied by MCPHS University after 10 or 15 years. Should MassArt exercise that option, its on-campus housing would be able to accommodate about 44% of its students, mostly freshmen and sophomores, doubling its total housing capacity.
Designed by ADD, Inc., the Tree House was inspired by Gustav Klimt’s “Tree of Life.” The 280-foot-tall structure stands as proof that three institutions can combine forces to build a facility that fulfills the needs of all parties.
© Lucy Chen
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Oct 19, 2017
Race for talent drives office designs
Is the shift toward attracting younger workers too much or not enough?
Sponsored | Designers | Oct 18, 2017
Universal design principles: Part 2
The CDC targets the bathroom as the most dangerous room in the house. Architects can use principles of Universal Design (UD) to reduce these hazards.
Giants 400 | Oct 17, 2017
Top 110 office architecture firms
Gensler, Jacobs, and HOK top BD+C’s ranking of the nation’s largest office sector architecture and AE firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 16, 2017
Data center market forecast: Clearly cloudy
Look for mission-critical construction to double in the next few years.
Resiliency | Oct 13, 2017
Resiliency takes center stage in new projects around the country
Projects like these, where resilience is central to their design and construction, are becoming more commonplace.
Architects | Oct 11, 2017
Architects to policymakers: Buildings are infrastructure, too
Left out of this ongoing national debate over infrastructure are the nation’s other public buildings: the libraries, community centers, courthouses, community college buildings, affordable housing developments, and justice facilities.
Giants 400 | Oct 11, 2017
Top 25 data center architecture firms
Jacobs, Corgan, and Gensler top BD+C’s ranking of the nation’s largest data center sector architecture and AE firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 9, 2017
6 new products for the multifamily construction market
Bamboo wall panels, an adaptable prep sink, and a two-tiered bike parking system are among the product innovations geared for multifamily buildings.
AEC Tech | Oct 6, 2017
How professional bias can sabotage industry transformation
Professional bias can take the form of change-resistant thinking that can keep transformational or innovative ambitions at bay. Tech consultant Nate Miller presents three kinds of bias that often emerge when a professional is confronted with new technology.
Giants 400 | Oct 6, 2017
Top 90 K-12 architecture firms
Stantec, DLR Group, and PBK top BD+C’s ranking of the nation’s largest K-12 sector architecture and AE firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.