Sep 30 - New Campus Site Purchased in Nubian Square
09/30/2019 – The college closed on its purchase of 1.25 acres for a new campus in the Nubian Square neighborhood of Roxbury. Located at 1003-1013 Harrison Avenue (the former site of the Harrison Supply Co.), the property will be transformed into a state-of-the-art multi-story facility complete with an advanced manufacturing center and walk-in optical shop, among other innovative learning environments and community resources. The new campus will support BFIT’s growing student population and offer expanded educational programs designed to meet the increasingly complex needs of in-demand technical jobs of the future.
“We are thrilled to take this step to advance the college’s mission of empowering Boston’s young people with the skills and opportunities to elevate their lives,” said Anthony Benoit, then-President of Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology. “Our students and faculty deserve an innovative and energetic space. Rather than renovate our old buildings, it just made sense to start from scratch and build a new campus where our students can thrive, and our professors can do their best work. With this new facility, our 111-year-old institution is primed for the next century of technical education, and we look forward to contributing to the economic empowerment of this vital Boston neighborhood.”
With the move to Nubian Square, students, faculty and employees will have centralized access to public transportation, including MBTA buses, orange line stops at Ruggles and Roxbury Crossing and commuter rail services into Ruggles and Newmarket station stops. In addition, the college will join the ranks of Boston Public Schools headquartered in the Bruce Bolling Building, Morgan Memorial Goodwill and the Urban League of Massachusetts (among many others) as a welcomed partner and community anchor in one of Boston’s most diverse and vibrant neighborhoods.
Several key community and civic leaders shared their thoughts:
Dana Brown, Co-Principal, Culture, Operations, Partnerships at Dearborn STEM Academy
“The Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology’s move to the Roxbury community conveys an ‘all in’ message towards the positive changes in infrastructure and programming coming to this neighborhood. As longtime partners with the college, their proximity and new space will allow for better and deeper opportunities for all Dearborn Academy students, staff, and external partners to learn from and collaborate with the college on mentoring programs, grant applications, and authentic learning experiences for students.”
Kathy Kottaridis, Executive Director at Historic Boston, Inc.
“Historic Boston is so pleased to see a venerable Boston institution so devoted to workforce training is coming to Nubian Square. Benjamin Franklin Institute’s presence here sends a message that it wants to be relevant to the folks who will most welcome the opportunities the college brings. We are so pleased that we’ll be able to call the college our new next-door neighbor.”
Bing Broderick, Executive Director at Haley House
“Haley House is pleased to welcome Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology to the Nubian Square neighborhood of Roxbury. With our own South End base, we have been longtime allies with the college, and our Social Justice missions are closely aligned. We are excited for the valuable opportunities that the college will bring to the residents of Roxbury and the surrounding areas, and we look forward to working together to build community.”
Jeanne Pinado, CEO at Madison Park Development Corporation
“On behalf of Madison Park Development and our Nubian Square community, I would like to happily welcome Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology to the neighborhood. The college has a long and successful history of providing high quality technical training to both first generation students and people of color, and its move to Nubian Square will expand access and opportunities for Roxbury residents. We look forward to the college becoming an institutional anchor offering economic development and job skills to this diverse community and are excited to learn more about opportunities to collaborate.”
Valerie Roberson, President at Roxbury Community College
“Roxbury Community College was pleased to hear about Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology’s move to Nubian]Square. We have partnered on program development in the past, and now that the college’s campus will be that much closer to ours, we look forward to greater collaboration between our institutions to provide the people of Roxbury and throughout Boston the opportunity to live and work in the communities they grew up in.”
Richard L. Taylor, Owner of Nubian Gallery at Nubian Square
“The announcement that Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology is constructing a 85,000 sq. ft. academic building in Roxbury is great news for all the stakeholders surrounding Nubian Square. The college brings its valued teachers and academic programs closer to its growing student population in the markets of Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan. In addition it brings more consumer purchasing power to help support the local retail establishments in Nubian Square. Finally, it provides an aesthetically designed building that will add character and rebirth to the important corner of Harrison Ave. and Melnea Cass Blvd. Bravo.”
