The University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School (UMCMS) held a ribbon-cutting event at its Worcester campus on Friday, June 7, debuting their new education and research building. At nine stories and 350,000 square feet, the facility will expand the university’s biomedical research opportunities with labs, offices, and common areas available to students, professors, and researchers. Designed to meet LEED Gold standards, the building replaces a portion of an existing parking garage located between the Albert Sherman Center and the Lazare Research Building, forming a connected trio of research buildings via two new sky bridges.
The new facility enables UMCMS to reallocate space and shift department locations to better use existing campus laboratories, while supporting innovation in disease research and fostering the education of the next generation of physicians and health science professionals. State-of-the-art teaching and laboratory spaces and an expansive conference area will provide valuable collaboration opportunities across the university’s three graduate schools—bolstering Chan Medical School’s position as a leader in medical research and education.
Prior to even joining the design and construction team in 2020, VHB worked directly with UMCMS to lead the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) process to plan for this expansion. That early work pre-positioned VHB as the go-to Civil & Traffic consultant for the design phase. VHB provided Geomatics, site utility and drainage system design, LEED services, traffic & transportation design, and also helped to coordinate the design for the geothermal well system that helps to provide clean energy to the new building.
Team members attending the ceremony included Justin Dufresne, PE, Providence, Managing Director; Brittany Gesner, PE, Director of Land Development in Worcester; and Derek Masionis, a site/civil designer on the Worcester Land Development team. The keynote speech was given by World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, who was joined by Dr. Michael F. Collins, MD, chancellor of UMass Chan Medical School, and Mary L. Burns, vice chair of the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees and chair of the UMass Building Authority Board of Directors; United States Representative Jim McGovern; Massachusetts Senator Robyn Kennedy; and Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty in recognizing the collective effort in bringing the project to fruition.
This innovative new facility is part of VHB’s continuing partnership with the University of Massachusetts system. Working at facilities across the state, our experienced team of professionals continue to support the evolving needs of higher education development.
Learn more about VHB’s commitment to delivering cutting-edge Healthcare Facilities and our collaborations with Higher Education institutions.
