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To accommodate Smith College’s pioneering
engineering program, and to update and relieve crowding in existing science buildings,
the college is building science and engineering facilities in the area of Green Street,
Belmont Avenue and West Street. Construction of Ford Hall, a building for engineering,
computer science, chemistry, biochemistry and molecular biology, is under way.
Construction of Ford Hall required the demolition of
four college-owned apartment buildings, 16, 20 and 22 Belmont Avenue and 22 Arnold
Avenue, containing a total of 26 units. (Smith also took down two buildings that
had been in college use: 88-100 Green Street housed the college bookstore and student
mail center on the first floor and Hampshire House, a facility for commuter students,
on the second floor; 86 Green Street housed the college's printing operation
and a pizza restaurant. The restaurant has relocated to 18 Green Street.)
Tenants in the affected buildings were notified of the
college's expansion plans in January 2004 so as to provide them at least 18 months'
notice. The college provided tenants with relocation information and financial assistance.
Smith committed to replacing the affected
housing stock with similarly-priced housing, whether new construction or in residential
properties the college already owns. The college sold to a local developer, O'Connell
Development Group of Holyoke, its property at 36 Bedford Terrace, which has been
converted into apartments in proximity to Northampton's downtown. The college has
also contacted property owners to assess their interest in increasing housing density
in the West Street area near the Smith campus.
The college established in fall 2003 a $3 million
fund to assist developers who wish to develop affordable housing. A committee advisory
to the college, whose members are selected by the president and the mayor, reviews
applications.
Footprint of Ford Hall. Although 66 Green
Street is not within the footprint of the building, it
is a property Smith has acquired for possible future expansion. It houses the Green
Street Café, which has a lease through 2012.
Smith is a residential college where students
live on campus and walk to classes.
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Smith has less space
per student than many of its peers.
Amherst: 1,000 acres for 1,600 students
Hampshire: 800 acres for 1,300 students
Mount Holyoke: 800 acres for 2,100 students
Smith: 125 acres for 2,600 students
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Most of Smith’s existing
science facilities were built in the 1960s, and Smith has insufficient space
for its growing science programs. |
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A key factor in Smith’s ability
to attract and retain world-class faculty and researchers in the sciences,
and the funded research projects that accompany them, is the extent and capacity
of the college’s science facilities. |
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Because Smith is a liberal arts
college, the sciences are taught alongside and in concert with the humanities
and social sciences. It would not be workable to locate one discipline on a
separate campus, as is sometimes the case at a research university. |
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As at peer institutions such as
Mount Holyoke and Amherst, Smith expansions have always taken place within
the current campus footprint or in very close proximity to the core campus. |
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Smith College has pledged to replace all
of the affordable housing removed for its science and engineering expansion.
Smith is an economic and cultural driver
in the region.
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Smith is one of Northampton’s
largest taxpayers. Only the college’s educational facilities are exempt
from local property taxes. |
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Smith employs more than 1,400 people,
about 570 of whom live in Northampton. |
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The college has an $80-million
payroll and buys nearly $12 million each year of goods and services from local
businesses. Smith students and visitors spend more than $3.7 million each
year. |
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Smith construction projects are
also a major stimulus to the local community. Construction of the engineering
and molecular sciences building is expected to generate some $30 million in
local spending to construction workers, vendors, suppliers and consultants. |
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Since 1990, more than 1,000 area
high school students have taken courses at Smith at no cost. |
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Virtually all of the college’s
buildings -- including indoor and outdoor athletics facilities, performing
arts venues, Museum of Art, Lyman Conservatory, Neilson Library -- are open
to the public and used by community groups. |
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