MassDevelopment.com: Press Room: Bay State Schools Use $17 Million in MassDevelopment Bonds for Campus Expansion Projects

Bay State Schools Use $17 Million in MassDevelopment Bonds for Campus Expansion Projects
January 8, 2007

Contacts:
Alicia Tildsley, MassDevelopment, 617-603-3120
Karen E. Bohlin, Montrose School, 508-650-6925
Maggie Bryant, Nashoba Brooks School, 978-369-4591
Jane T. Cohen, South Area Solomon Schechter Day School, 781-341-8040

MassDevelopment today announced $17.5 million in tax-exempt bond issues on behalf of three Bay State schools. The Montrose School in Medfield will use proceeds from a $6,000,000 tax-exempt bond to renovate the school’s new academic, performing arts and assembly hall building and construct playing fields. In addition, bond proceeds will support the school’s refinancing of loans used to purchase a 13.5 acre site in downtown-Medfield, the former home of Bayer Laboratory. The South Area Solomon Schechter Day School will use proceeds from a $9,000,000 bond to purchase and renovate a facility set on its new 4.6 acre-campus in Norwood, and to construct a new gymnasium. The Nashoba Brooks School will use a $2.5 million bond to purchase property adjacent to its Concord campus to accommodate future growth.

"MassDevelopment is pleased to provide the Commonwealth’s schools with low-cost financing to enhance their educational offerings," said Robert L. Culver, MassDevelopment President/CEO. "The future of our state economy relies on the success of our young people. Therefore, investment in education is an investment in Massachusetts."

Founded in 1979, the Montrose School is a secondary school for girls in grades six through twelve. Prior to its move to Medfield, the 25-year-old school rented space in Natick, Westwood and Brookline. Montrose plans to open in Medfield with 150 students, and grow to accommodate 280 students during the coming years.

"As we begin this new chapter of Montrose history, establishing and developing a permanent home campus, we are extremely grateful to MassDevelopment," said Karen E. Bohlin, Head of School at Montrose. "The financing helps us to sustain momentum and leverage the kind of renovations that will enrich our program and advance our mission."

South Area Solomon Schechter Day School (SASSDS) is a K-8 Jewish day school located in Norwood. Previously located at 710 Turnpike Street in Stoughton, SASSDS, now in its eighteenth year, enrolls 230 students. The school plans to open in its new location for the 2007 school year. The new facility on Commerce Way consists of 41,900-square feet in two buildings on a 4.6-acre campus. The former headquarters of the May Institute, the space will immediately accommodate 40 percent more students, with the potential for further expansion. The new campus will include state-of-the-art science, music, art and drama facilities, a gymnasium, parking lots and outdoor playground space.

"When our student body and our ideas for the school’s curriculum outgrew our existing space, we knew we needed a plan," said Jane Taubenfeld Cohen, Head of School, South Area Solomon Schechter Day School. "The timing, savings, and flexibility of the financing package provided by MassDevelopment will allow us to improve our facilities in a manner that also significantly enhances the entirety of our educational program."

The Nashoba Brooks School, formerly The Brooks School of Concord, is located on a 20-acre campus in Concord. Founded in 1928, the school merged with Nashoba Country Day in 1980, allowing the schools to expand enrollment to 300 students. The school offers co-ed classes for students in grades pre-school through grade three, and single gender classes for girls in grades four through eight. The school serves a wide geographical area including more than 35 towns from southern New Hampshire and across the Commonwealth.

MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development authority, works with businesses, financial institutions and local officials to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. Since fiscal year 2004, MassDevelopment financed or managed 586 projects statewide representing an investment of more than $4 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are supporting the creation of 5,537 housing units and more than 23,500 jobs.