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 11, 2010
HDR, Perkins+Will top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 100 largest healthcare design firms
A ranking of the Top 100 Healthcare Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Steel Joist Institute announces 2009 Design Awards
The Steel Joist Institute is now accepting entries for its 2009 Design Awards. The winning entries will be announced in November 2009 and the company with the winning project in each category will be awarded a $2,000 scholarship in its name to a school of its choice for an engineering student.
| Aug 11, 2010
29 Great Solutions for the AEC Industry
AEC firms are hotbeds of invention and innovation to meet client needs in today's highly competitive environment. The editors of Building Design+Construction are pleased to present 29 "Great Solutions" to some of the most complex problems and issues facing Building Teams today. Our solutions cover eight key areas: Design, BIM + IT, Collaboration, Healthcare, Products, Technology, Business Management, and Green Building.
| Aug 11, 2010
Permanent tribute to Daniel Burnham and his Plan of Chicago proposed for Grant Park Museum Campus
The first-place winner of a design competition for a public memorial celebrating Daniel Burnham's impact on Chicago will be announced at a news conference Wednesday, July 8, at 10am CDT. The proposed site for the memorial is on the Museum Campus just north of The Field Museum. The announcement comes after nearly two years of planning by Chicago's architecture, design and urban planning community about how to best honor the legacy of Burnham and the Plan of Chicago he co-wrote with Edward Bennett.
| Aug 11, 2010
Arup, SOM top BD+C's ranking of the country's largest mixed-use design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 Mixed-Use Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Architecture billings index takes turn for the worse
After showing signs of stabilization over the last three months, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) plunged nearly five points in June. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the June ABI rating was 37.7, far lower than the 42.9 the previous month.
| Aug 11, 2010
International Living Building Institute established to advance 'living buildings'
The idea of a Living Building, a high-performance building that produces its own power and cleans and reuses all of its water, is gaining momentum around the world. In an effort to oversee the global development of Living Buildings, the International Living Building Institute (ILBI) has been established.