Technical college gets new lab building
A school that traces its roots back to a bequest made by none other than Benjamin Franklin took a step toward its rebirth Tuesday when Gov. Charlie Baker gathered with officials to launch a rebuilding project.
“Today is the first step in a new future for us. We’re going to build a 68,000square-foot home for the future of technical and trade education, right here on this spot,” said Dr. Aisha Francis, president of Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology, at Tuesday’s event.
Originally founded in 1908 with funding stipulated in Franklin’s will at his death in 1790, that new building comes with a new name for the institution. Following a $12.5 million donation made to the institute by the Cummings Foundation, the philanthropic Woburn-based organization run by Bill and Joyce Cummings, the school has proposed changing its name to the Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology.
Construction at the Boston-based institution will result in 20 new, cuttingedge labs and house the school’s electrical engineering, computer technology, machining, advanced manufacturing, construction management, practical electricity and HVAC programs.
“We have room to grow. We’re looking to increase our enrollment by 50% and we’re looking to make sure we have the capacity to train for what the future jobs are as well as the jobs of today,” Francis said.
After his election in 2014, Baker spoke at the school’s commencement the following spring. According to the governor, the school immediately stood out as something special in the community.
“I was just amazed at the quality of the work that was being done and the breadth and depth of the geography of the students attending the school,” he said.
Baker said the school is special in that it has appeal to student’s from all over the commonwealth due to the education it provides in what he called “the hard trades.”
However, at its previous location in the South End, the school suffered from a serious problem Baker noticed right away.
“I’ve always thought Ben Franklin was located in a place that unless you knew it was there you would drive right by it,” he said.
The school’s new location at 1011 Harrison Avenue, in Nubian Square, will give it the visibility it has long deserved.
“When Ben Franklin moves to this site, this will be an iconic location. It’s a perfect location in many respects to who this school serves and what they are trying to accomplish with education and programing,” Baker said.
The state is supporting the project with a $650,000 Brownfields grant to demolish the long vacant warehouse at the location and remediate the site.
The proposal to change the school’s name requires the approval of the state’s higher education authority, and public comment on the process closes on Monday.