flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Arts college uses creative financing to build 493-bed student housing

Arts college uses creative financing to build 493-bed student housing

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.


By Peter Fabris, Contributing Editor | November 7, 2014
The exterior design of the 21-story, LEED Silver MassArt Tree House was sugges
The exterior design of the 21-story, LEED Silver MassArt Tree House was suggested by Gustav Klimts Tree of Life. The 145,60

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

| Aug 22, 2013

Warehouse remake: Conversion project turns derelict freight terminal into modern office space [slideshow]

The goal of the Freight development is to attract businesses to an abandoned industrial zone north of downtown Denver.

| Aug 21, 2013

AIA: Architecture billings on the rise in July

The Architecture Billings Index for July was 52.7, up from a mark of 51.6 in June. This score reflects an increase in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings).

| Aug 20, 2013

40 Under 40 retrospective: ‘U40s’ take on continuing ed, snake’s blood

Every month we’ll be touching base with past 40 Under 40 honorees to see what’s been happening in their professional and personal lives since winning the award. This month: An accomplished author of test-prep books and an architect who headed to China when the American economy turned sour.

| Aug 20, 2013

Top Data Center Architecture Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]

Corgan, Gensler, HDR head Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest data center architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.

| Aug 20, 2013

First look: $550 million Billie Jean King National Tennis Center renovation

The United States Tennis Association has announced its plans for a sweeping transformation of the USTABillie Jean King National Tennis Center that will include the construction of two new stadiums, as well as a retractable roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium.  The transformation will be implemented in three phases to begin at the conclusion of the 2013 US Open, with the goal of overall completion by the 2018 US Open.

| Aug 15, 2013

Design-build project delivery holds steady at nearly 40% of nonresidential construction: DBIA study

The Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA), the only organization that defines, teaches and promotes best practices in design-build, has released research indicating that design-build project delivery represents nearly 40 percent of total market share in the United States, based on dollar value at the end of 2012. 

| Aug 14, 2013

Five projects receive 2013 Educational Facility Design Excellence Award

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on Architecture for Education (CAE) has selected five educational and cultural facilities for this year’s CAE Educational Facility Design Awards.

| Aug 14, 2013

Sluggish gains in architect compensation due to weakness in construction sector: AIA survey

U.S. architecture firms have experienced modest improvements in business conditions over the last two years that has resulted in very small gains in compensation levels for staffs. 

| Aug 14, 2013

Green Building Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]

Building Design+Construction's rankings of the nation's largest green design and construction firms. 

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Resiliency

Austin area evacuation center will double as events venue

A new 45,000 sf FEMA-operated evacuation shelter in the Greater Austin metropolitan area will begin construction this fall. The center will be available to house people in the event of a disaster such as a major hurricane and double as an events venue when not needed for emergency shelter.



halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021