The University of Massachusetts is planning a $222.5-million student housing project on its Boston campus. Construction of the first $91.5-million, 900-bed phase could begin as early as summer of 2003. An additional $131 million would fund four more dormitories housing 1,100 students which could be completed by 2012. UMass Boston, currently perceived as a commuter school, hopes to attract more traditional students with the expansion. The project will require funding from state bonds, which have not yet been secured.
The project is part of five-year, $1.2-billion capital improvement plan that includes construction of a new $394-million science, engineering, and arts facility, and an $80-million heating plant that will save the university $2 million in heating costs annually. Both of these projects are on the main Amherst campus.
