MassDevelopment.com: Press Room: $15,000,000 MassDevelopment Bond Supports Bentley College Expansion Projects

$15,000,000 MassDevelopment Bond Supports Bentley College Expansion Projects
December 5, 2005

Contacts:
Adam Bickelman, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2086
Michele Walsh, Bentley College, 781-891-2070

MassDevelopment today announced a $15,000,000 tax-exempt bond issue for Bentley College in Waltham. Bond proceeds will reimburse construction costs for two residence halls opened earlier this fall and fund renovations to the school's athletic center.

"We are pleased to partner with Bentley College on this expansion initiative," said Robert L. Culver, MassDevelopment president/CEO. "Massachusetts is known for the strength of its higher-ed institutions, and it's important to support these organizations as they grow and change, both because they are major in-state employers, and because they shape the minds of our nation's future innovators, business leaders and activists."

Bentley College is a national leader in business education, blending the breadth and technological strength of a university with the values and student focus of a small college. Degrees in 11 business fields and six arts and sciences disciplines are open to the approximately 5,000 undergraduate students enrolled in the college. At the graduate level, offerings include PhDs in Business and Accounting, MBA, Master of Science and certificate programs, all emphasizing the impact of technology on business. Bentley currently employs more than 1,000 faculty and staff.

"Thank you to MassDevelopment and Deutsche Bank for structuring this competitive financing package," said Paul Clemente, Bentley Vice President for Business and Finance and Treasurer. "Our new dormitories and expanded athletic facility will greatly enhance Bentley's residential and extracurricular experience."

MassDevelopment, the state's finance and development authority, works with businesses, financial institutions and local officials to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. In fiscal year 2005, MassDevelopment financed or managed 158 projects statewide representing an investment of nearly $1.9 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are supporting the creation of 2,769 housing units and more than 9,800 jobs: 4,702 permanent and 5,100 in construction.