MPCHS Press Releases

Press Releases

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino speaks at Wednesday’s ground breaking ceremony

Senator Diane Wilkerson

Seen left to right are George Humphrey, Vice President for College Relations, David Maher, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Representative Jeffrey Sanchez , Senator Diane Wilkerson, President Charles F. Monahan Jr., Mission Hill resident Marilyn Barron, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Trustee Gregory Laham, and Richard Lessard, Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer.

College Breaks Ground On Huntington Avenue Academic Center

Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences officially broke ground this morning on a new six-story academic building on the south side of Huntington Avenue in the Mission Hill neighborhood, near Brigham Circle. On hand at the event were Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Charles F. Monahan Jr., President of MCPHS, Boston City Councilor Michael Ross, State Senator Diane Wilkerson, State Representative Jeffrey Sanchez, and Paul McCann, Acting Director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

“I want to thank Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences for working so well with the community and investing in their students and this city,” Mayor Menino said. “Boston is known around the world for having the finest hospitals, the best colleges, and the most promising research facilities anywhere. We are so proud – and so lucky – to be the city that is always setting the standard of medicine, and then constantly raising that standard. I’m confident that this new facility will strengthen Boston’s position as a leader in health care.”

The striking, six-story, triangular building will contain nearly 50,000 square feet of classrooms, faculty and staff offices, teaching laboratories, a technology center, a 230 seat auditorium and a multi-function room on the top floor. The new structure will house the College’s School of Nursing, School of Physician Assistant Studies, Office of Institutional Advancement and the Office of College Relations and Communications. The building, designed by Perkins+Will of Boston and to be built by Bond Brothers of Everett, is scheduled to be ready for occupancy in January 2009.

“During this process, the Mission Hill community taught us some very important lessons – that Boston is a city of neighborhoods, places where people live and raise their families, and that institutions must develop projects that respect the scale and character of the surrounding community,” said MCPHS President Charles F. Monahan Jr. “By housing state-of-the-art facilities for our nursing and physician assistant programs, the Huntington Avenue Academic Center will pay dividends for many generations to come.”

A Closer Look...

Nearly 50,000 s.f.
Six stories
The first floor will house student commons space
Two floors of classrooms and academic labs (Patient Assessment and Clinical Simulation Labs).
Two floors of offices
The top floor will be a multifunction space with views of Huntington Avenue and beyond
The building will include a large variety of student study areas such as small group study spaces, computer study areas, and student lounges
The exterior is a responsive design, respectful of the character and scale of both sides of Huntington Avenue. The facade will be primarily brick, with the main entry is on Huntington Avenue, accentuating the building's placement and role on the busy "Avenue of the Arts"

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