Baker-Polito Administration Awards $650,000 for Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology’s New Campus in Nubian Square Brownfields Redevelopment Fund Award from MassDevelopment Helps School Assess, Remediate & Demolish Vacant Warehouse, Clearing Way for New 68,000-Square-Foot Campus
 | | MA Governor Chalie Baker (Photo by Chutze Chou) |
ROXBURY – Tuesday, April 5, 2022 – Today, the
Baker-Polito Administration announced $650,000 from the Brownfields
Redevelopment Fund to the Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology
(BFIT) to prepare a 1.26-acre site at 1003-1013 Harrison Ave. in Nubian Square
in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood that will serve as the school’s new campus.
BFIT, a technical college currently located in Boston’s South End neighborhood,
will use proceeds to assess and remediate environmental contamination at the
site and demolish a vacant warehouse building, actions that will clear the way
for the school to build its new three-story, 68,000-square-foot academic
headquarters in the neighborhood. The new campus will feature 23 technical
education labs for hands-on learning – including a rooftop learning lab for
solar panels and HVAC instruction – eight general classrooms, meeting and
study rooms, a central student lounge, a student success center, as well as
administration space. With a flexible and sustainable design, the new campus
will enable Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology to increase its
in-person learning capacity from 600 students to 800 students with many able to
be served through distance learning. This expanded capacity comes at a time of
increased demand for students who are prepared for high-quality tech and trade
careers.
Governor Charlie Baker, Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike
Kennealy, and MassDevelopment President and CEO Dan Rivera joined Benjamin
Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology President and CEO Dr. Aisha Francis
in Nubian Square today to announce the award.
"Today’s announcement highlights the importance of the Commonwealth’s
Brownfields Redevelopment Fund, a program that is designed to help reinvigorate
blighted sites with new life and purpose,” said Governor Charlie Baker.
“Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology’s new campus in Nubian
Square will revitalize a vacant property into a hub of education, innovation
and opportunity that we are proud to support.”
“This new campus will provide Roxbury residents with direct access to the
technical college and all of the job training and economic development it
will bring,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. “We are pleased
that the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund award will support important
predevelopment work on an environmentally challenging parcel that, once
complete, will pave the way for a dynamic and modern campus.”
1003-1013 Harrison Ave. currently houses a 32,516-square-foot warehouse
formerly operated by the Harrison Supply Company that has sat vacant for more
than a decade. Prior environmental assessments of the site showed soil
contaminants such as polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and lead, as well
as contaminants in the building including asbestos and lead. BFIT expects to
bring new life to the site by assessing, remediating, and demolishing the
warehouse. Further plans include beginning construction of the new campus by
fall 2022 in anticipation of moving into the new campus in 2024.
“The mission of the Commonwealth’s Brownfields Redevelopment Fund is to breathe
life into properties complicated by environmental contamination,” said
Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy, who serves as chair
of MassDevelopment’s Board of Directors. “Investing in Benjamin Franklin
Cummings Institute of Technology’s move to Nubian Square in Roxbury helps meet
that mission and more by converting a vacant warehouse into a new
state-of-the-art campus and creating space where young people of all
backgrounds can be empowered with the educational opportunities necessary to
pursue meaningful and successful career paths.”
“The demolition of this blighted property and the building of the Benjamin
Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology campus marks an important step in the
rebirth of Dudley Square into Nubian Square, adding energy and foot traffic in
a dynamic corner of Roxbury,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO
Dan Rivera. “MassDevelopment is thrilled to help the school make this
transformative investment into a first-rate campus for its students and for
Boston.”
MassDevelopment oversees the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund, which helps to
transform vacant, abandoned, or underused industrial or commercial properties
by financing the environmental assessment and remediation of brownfield sites
in “Economically Distressed Areas” of the Commonwealth. From the Fund’s
inception in 1998 through FY21, it has supported 765 awards for a total
investment of more than $112 million. Additionally, in October 2021 the
Baker-Polito Administration announced $1.2 million in FY22 Brownfields
funding for eight projects across Massachusetts.
"Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology is a terrific partner to the
City of Boston, supporting a strong job training pipeline for our residents
through programs like the Mayor's Tuition Free Community
College Program and more," said Midori Morikawa,
the City of Boston’s Deputy Chief of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion.
"BFIT's new Nubian Square campus will provide expanded opportunities for
Boston's low-income residents to gain skills necessary for good jobs in today's
economy. We are thankful to MassDevelopment for the funding to help make this
project a reality."
“It is fantastic to have funding partners like MassDevelopment recognize the
economic development opportunity inherent in moving Benjamin Franklin Cummings
Institute of Technology to the Harrison Avenue site,” said Dr. Aisha
Francis, President and CEO of BFIT. “With their partnership, and through
the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund, we are beginning the public-facing process
of creating a 21st century, state-of-the-art campus to serve
our students and offer more robust education options to the surrounding
community.”
Founded in 1908, Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology is an
affordable, urban, private, nonprofit college serving the Boston region and
committed to student success and career readiness in technology fields. Through
personalized support, hands-on learning, and industry-informed curricula, BFIT
prepares graduates for work, life-long learning, and citizenship. BFIT has a
10-to-one student-to-faculty ratio. Seventy-four percent (74%) of students
identify as students of color and 57% are first-generation college
students.
In December 2021, Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology announced
a partnership with
another MassDevelopment client, Ginkgo Bioworks, to develop an associate degree
in biotechnology manufacturing to be housed at the Nubian Square Life Science
Training Center, which will neighbor BFIT’s new campus. MassDevelopment
provided a $1 million loan from
its Emerging Technology Fund in 2015 to help Ginkgo Bioworks finance an
expansion and equipment for a foundry at its headquarters in Boston’s Seaport.
MassDevelopment, the state’s development finance agency and land bank, works
with businesses, nonprofits, banks, and communities to stimulate economic
growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2021, MassDevelopment financed or
managed 416 projects generating investment of more than $1.86 billion in the
Massachusetts economy. These projects are estimated to create or support 6,578
jobs and build or preserve 1,909 housing units |
沒有留言:
發佈留言