MassDevelopment

MassDevelopment Issues $43 Million in Bonds to Enable Western New England College to Build Academic Building


December 10, 2009


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Kelsey Abbruzzese, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2086
Dave Stawasz, WNEC, 413-796-2026

MassDevelopment and Western New England College announced today that the Agency has issued $43 million in tax-exempt bonds on behalf of the Springfield school. Western New England College plans to use the bond proceeds to build a 126,000-square foot academic building, which would house its new School of Pharmacy. The project is expected to create 49 new jobs.

“This low-cost financing is not only providing jobs now, but preparing students for their future careers in one of the critical industries of Massachusetts,” said Robert L. Culver, President and CEO of MassDevelopment. “Pharmacy has grown into a highly desirable field, and we’re proud to help the College and the Commonwealth cultivate talented candidates.”

The building will also house the psychology, biology, physics, and chemistry departments, in addition to a model pharmacy and student and employee health services. The state-of-the-art facility is scheduled to open in early 2011.

Artist’s rendering of WNEC building.

“Western New England College is grateful for the support of MassDevelopment and the local banking community, especially given the current economic climate,” said Vice President for Finance and Administration William J. Kelleher. “Issuing these bonds will help the College fulfill important milestones in the development of a School of Pharmacy as well as the overall growth of the College.”

MassDevelopment’s work with Western New England College marks the latest in a series of investments in the Pioneer Valley. The Agency recently purchased 1550 Main Street in Springfield, which will help revitalize the downtown by housing tenants such as Baystate Health and the Springfield School Department. In October, Qteros, a biotech company that received MassDevelopment financing, broke ground on a pilot plant in Chicopee that will continue Qteros’s search for fuel alternatives. Chicopee officials also joined Culver and other MassDevelopment staff to announce the Agency will manage cleanup and demolition at the former Uniroyal and Facemate properties, part of up to $100,000 in Brownfields Redevelopment funds from MassDevelopment.

MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development authority, works with businesses, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2009, MassDevelopment financed or managed 229 projects statewide representing the investment of nearly $1.2 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are supporting the creation of 1,488 new housing units and 8,232 jobs: 3,362 permanent and 4,870 construction-related.