Emmanuel College Opens 18-Story Residence Hall in Heart of the Fenway, Welcomes Largest Class in History

BOSTON, Sept. 25, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- This fall, Emmanuel College opened the largest ever college building on campus, a 692-bed, 18-story residence hall, just as it welcomed its largest first-year class in history. Responding to student demand for contemporary apartment-style living, as well as Boston Mayor Martin Walsh's challenge to urban colleges to house more students on campus, Emmanuel began construction on this building in the summer of 2016. In addition to increasing the number of Emmanuel students living on campus, 250 students from neighboring MCPHS University are housed in the new residence hall.

"In Boston, we know that creating student housing is crucial to the success of our academic institutions, to keeping housing affordable, and to preventing displacement," said Mayor Walsh. "I'm proud to see Emmanuel College invest in the future of Boston's students and expand its on-campus residence capacity while having the best recruiting year in history this fall."

The opening of this new residence hall comes at a time when more than 650 new students enrolled at Emmanuel for fall 2018; the College's total student body stands at 2,300. This opening is a prelude to the celebrations of Emmanuel College's Centennial in 2019, as well as the 40th anniversary of President Sr. Janet Eisner, SND's inauguration. She is the longest currently serving woman college president in the country.

"The opening of Emmanuel's new residence hall marks a significant milestone in the College's history as we look to our second century," said Sr. Janet. "Over the decades, Emmanuel College has adapted to the needs of each generation, and a spirit of innovation has persisted. Emmanuel College today, with this magnificent new building, is thriving and fulfilling the mission of our founders to provide the highest-quality educational experience."

Key Facts

• In addition to studios and two-bedroom student apartments, this new 267,500 square-foot, 18-story building includes: the state-of-the-art Margaret L. McKenna '83 Media Center; a dance studio; a fitness center; meeting and event spaces; and Joe Di's Food Mart convenience store and Dunkin' Donuts, both open to the public.
• This new apartment-style residence hall directly addresses Mayor Walsh's challenge to Boston colleges and universities to house more students on campus, alleviating the pressure college student rentals puts on communities. With the addition of this building, there has been a 20% increase in the number of Emmanuel students living on campus.
• Emmanuel College is leasing floors of the residence hall to fellow Colleges of the Fenway (COF) member MCPHS University; in the current higher education environment, this consortium, established in 1996, has been lauded as a model for resource sharing and collaboration.
• Emmanuel engaged with top-tier architecture and construction management firms to lead the project including Elkus Manfredi Architects and John Moriarty & Associates. These firms have previously completed projects for Harvard University, Duke University, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and Emerson College.

About Emmanuel College
Emmanuel College is a co-educational, residential institution with a 17-acre campus in the heart of Boston's educational, scientific, cultural and medical communities. Enrolling 2,300 undergraduate and graduate students, the College provides boundless opportunities for students to expand their worldview through rigorous coursework, significant internship and career opportunities throughout the Boston area and beyond, collaborations with distinguished and dedicated faculty, and participation in a dynamic campus community. Emmanuel's more than 60 programs in the sciences, liberal arts, business, nursing, and education foster spirited discourse and substantive learning experiences that honor the College's Catholic educational mission to educate the whole person and provide an ethical and relevant 21st-century education.

SOURCE Emmanuel College