WIT proposes to build new academic building

Wentworth Institute of Technology (WIT) filed plans with the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) last month to build a 69,000-square-foot academic building at 555 Parker St., according to the expanding project notification form (EPNF).

The project will require an amendment to WIT’s institutional master plan (IMP). An IMP is a comprehensive development plan that describes an institution’s existing facilities, long-range planning goals, and proposed projects. The Boston Redevelopment Authority, which has since been re-branded to BPDA, approved the WIT’s IMP in 2010.

The 64-foot building would house laboratories, student learning and group meeting space, offices, storage room, “a first-floor maker space,” and space “intended to invite the campus population to experience first-hand displays of Wentworth’s engineering capabilities and teachers,” according to the EPNF.

The EPNF goes on to state that the building would allow WIT to transition from “providing engineering technology programs to engineering and innovation programs, such as new biological engineering program.”

The building, which would replace three tennis courts along Parker Street, is slated to be built to the environmental goal of LEED Silver certifiable status. WIT is also committing to implementing the Boston Residents Jobs Policy, with a goal of 50 percent of construction jobs for city residents, 25 percent for minorities, and 10 percent for woman during the expected 14-month construction period.

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