MassDevelopment Tax-Exempt Bond, Lease Support Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology’s Newton Facility Renovation

August 14, 2012

Contacts:
Kelsey Abbruzzese, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2086 & 617-448-9077 (cell)
kabbruzzese@massdevelopment.com
Patti Jacobs, MSPP, 617-864-2712
Patti_jacobs@mspp.edu

MassDevelopment has issued a $3.5 million tax-exempt bond and a $1 million tax-exempt lease on behalf of the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology (MSPP), an applied psychology graduate school in Newton.

MSPP will use bond and lease proceeds to renovate, furnish, and equip its new 51,000-square-foot campus at 1 Wells Avenue. The renovation will convert space into classrooms; faculty and staff offices; meeting areas; and a library. The School will also use bond and lease proceeds to acquire and install equipment at the campus. MSPP expects to create 80 to 100 jobs over a five-year period as a result of this project. RBS Citizens purchased the bond, and RBS Asset Finance purchased the lease.

“MSPP designs its curriculum around real-world preparation, combining its academic program with intensive supervised clinical practice,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Marty Jones. “This low-cost financing will improve the School's ability to deliver those services by supporting construction at its state-of-the-art facility on Wells Avenue.”

MSPP offers 12 degree programs at the doctoral and master’s level, and one certificate program, all designed to train individuals to be mental health professionals for a variety of settings. In recent years, MSPP has gone through a period of major growth, more than doubling it student body in the past six years.

According to Patrick Capobianco, MSPP's CFO, “This is a very exciting time for our school and its students. We believe that the work we are doing to train the next generation of mental health professionals will have a significant positive impact for many citizens, and we are thankful for MassDevelopment's support.”

Founded in 1974 as an independent graduate school of psychology, MSPP provides unique training programs for mental health professionals at the doctoral, master's and certificate level, each designed to immerse students in both academic study and real-life clinical experience. Constantly assessing and evolving to meet the needs of a rapidly changing and increasingly diverse society, MSPP currently offers programs to train highly skilled professionals to care for Latinos, veterans, children and adolescents and families in a variety of settings, including the schools, the courts, the community and the workplace, among others. For more information about MSPP’s academic programs and special events, go to www.MSPP.edu

MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2011, MassDevelopment financed or managed more than 300 projects generating investment of $3.8 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are projected to create more than 10,000 jobs (2,547 permanent and 8,129 construction), and build or rehabilitate more than 1,000 residential units.