Tufts has begun the development process for the largest residence hall in university history, the university announced Thursday evening. The building, which is scheduled for completion by fall 2027, will be located at 401 Boston Avenue and will exclusively house juniors and seniors.
“Sited across from the Tufts/Medford Green Line station, the transit-oriented building will allow residents easy use of the MBTA to reach many off-campus locations,” Executive Vice President Michael Howard wrote in an email to the Tufts community.
The new dorm is part of an ongoing university effort to expand on-campus housing. Upperclassmen are not guaranteed on-campus housing under Tufts’ current residential capacity, forcing many students into a scramble to secure off-campus housing for after their sophomore year. Through the construction of a new residence hall, the university says it hopes to house more juniors and seniors on campus and alleviate the concerns of local residents living in a student-centric housing market.
“We expect the new building to … achiev[e] the goal that we share with our host communities of Medford and Somerville of significantly reducing the population of our students residing in residential neighborhoods and freeing up housing for working families in those cities,” Howard wrote.
Tufts has partnered with Capstone Development Partners, a real estate company that works with colleges and universities on student housing, for the construction of the new dorm.
“Through this partnership, Tufts will be able to significantly reduce construction costs and time and benefit from Capstone’s expertise in building maintenance and operations,” an FAQ attached to the university-wide email stated.
While the hall will not host a Tufts Dining facility, its ground floor will host retail shops that the university said may include food services. According to the Thursday announcement, Tufts and Capstone are still engaged in negotiations about which of the two partners will have control over the retail space.
Tufts has yet to announce other details about the new residence hall, such as its size, the types of businesses that can be established there, or the room fee. However, the FAQ stated that the costs will be “competitive with, or comparable to, the cost of living in off-campus housing.” Howard stressed in his email that the university is committed to providing financial aid to eligible students hoping to live in the new dorm.
“We will be working closely with Medford officials, our neighbors, and the university community to communicate the project’s progress and details as they are determined,” he wrote.
