MassDevelopment

MassDevelopment bond for new WPI building


January 2, 2020 : Telegram & Gazette, by Scott O'Connell


MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, has issued a $114 million tax-exempt bond to help Worcester Polytechnic Institute building a new academic building on campus.

The planned five-story, 100,000-square-foot facility broke ground in November, and is expected to open in January 2022. The building will house classrooms, research and meeting space, and staff offices.

WPI also will use the bond to pay for other building renovations and upgrades on campus, according to MassDevelopment.

“Worcester Polytechnic Institute is an esteemed member of the Worcester community and a premier provider of higher education in the commonwealth,” the agency’s president and CEO Lauren Liss said in a statement. “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 issued bonds for WPI projects in the past as well, including $56 million for the university’s sports and recreation center, and $43 million for Faraday Hall.

“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’s 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.”