Sasaki Associates Begins Feasibility Study on Residential Housing

By Leigh DuPuy

“We want to be able to offer a residential college experience to our students which is high quality and affordable,” says Chancellor Gora of a proposal to create residential housing at UMass Boston. The university recently took one step closer in the process when the UMass Building Authority selected Sasaki Associates, Inc., to conduct a feasibility study for the construction of residential housing for approximately 2,000 students to live at UMass Boston. The study is slated for completion in June.

Experts in urban housing design, Sasaki Associates has provided campus planning and design to more than 300 colleges and universities in the United States. Their study will address the many questions surrounding on-campus housing, which include possible locations, designs, amenities, and target populations. A large part of the analysis will examine how the integration of residential housing will affect existing services, such as public safety, parking, food services, and athletics facilities. They will also evaluate the need for additional services, such as an expanded food services and residential life programs. “We need to consider all the factors in a transition from a commuter campus to a 24/7 operation,” explains Stephan Chait, assistant vice chancellor for administration and finance.

UMass Boston conducted an in-house preliminary feasibility study to explore the possibility of residential housing in 1999. On November 7, 2001, the Board of Trustees approved the full-scale residence hall planning study, which will help the university evaluate the financial capital needs of the project, including how much students will be charged to live there and how much the university can borrow to build it.

UMass Boston remains the only four-year, public institution in Massachusetts that does not provide on-campus housing. University officials expect that the addition of student housing will provide better campus atmosphere and cohesion, attract graduate and undergraduate students who view student housing as a priority, improve retention of students who wish to live in student housing, and strengthen loyalty among alumni.

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