Worcester Polytechnic Institute Finances New 100,000-Square-Foot Academic Building, Additional Campus Upgrades With Help From MassDevelopment Bond

December 23, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                  

Contacts:
Jessica Beliveau, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2086 & 857-283-2846 (cell)
jbeliveau@massdevelopment.com

Alison Duffy, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 508-831-6656
amduffy@wpi.edu

MassDevelopment has issued a $113,640,000 tax-exempt bond on behalf of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), which will use bond proceeds to build and equip a new five-story, 100,000-square-foot academic building on its main campus at 100 Institute Road in Worcester. The new academic building, which broke ground in November 2019 and is slated to open in January 2022, will house classrooms, research and collaboration spaces, and administrative offices. The bond was sold through a public offering underwritten by Barclays Capital Inc.

WPI will also use bond proceeds to renovate and upgrade existing buildings on its campus, including making accessibility, ADA-compliance, energy-efficiency, and other infrastructure improvements.

“Worcester Polytechnic Institute is an esteemed member of the Worcester community and a premier provider of higher education in the Commonwealth,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Lauren Liss. “We are proud to offer tax-exempt financing that will enable WPI to build a new, state-of-the-art academic building and make important improvements to its campus facilities.”

MassDevelopment has previously supported WPI campus expansion projects. In 2010, MassDevelopment issued $56 million in tax-exempt bonds to help WPI build the Sports & Recreation Center, a 140,000-square-foot facility on its main campus featuring a four-court gymnasium, swimming pool, fitness space, squash and racquetball courts, and a multilevel atrium. Additionally, in 2012, MassDevelopment issued a $42,540,000 tax-exempt bond to help WPI build Faraday Hall, an 89,000-square-foot, 250-bed residence hall across from Gateway Park.

WPI, a global leader in project-based learning, is a distinctive, top-tier technological university founded in 1865 on the principle that students learn most effectively by applying the theory learned in the classroom to the practice of solving real-world problems. Recognized by the National Academy of Engineering with the 2016 Bernard M. Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Technology Education, WPI’s pioneering project-based curriculum engages undergraduates in solving important scientific, technological, and societal problems throughout their education and at more than 50 project centers around the world. WPI offers more than 50 bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs across 14 academic departments in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts. Its faculty and students pursue groundbreaking research to meet ongoing challenges in health and biotechnology; robotics and the internet of things; advanced materials and manufacturing; cyber, data, and security systems; learning science; and more.

“WPI is pleased to partner, once again, with MassDevelopment for tax-exempt financing for these important transformational projects on our campus,” said Jeffrey Solomon, WPI Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. “Through these ongoing efforts, WPI has been able to responsibly grow and maintain its facilities and its offerings to students and research and industry partners from across the Commonwealth and beyond.”

MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, banks, and communities to stimulate economic growth. During FY2019, MassDevelopment financed or managed 316 projects generating investment of more than $2 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are estimated to create or support 9,743 jobs and build or preserve 1,992 housing units.