Tower Square was picked for the UMass satellite center over three other bidders including The Peter Pan Bus terminal, the 10-floor Harrison Place at 1391 Main St. and the 17-story One Financial Plaza at 1350 Main St.
SPRINGFIELD - Gov. Deval Patrick and University of Massachusetts President Robert L. Caret are scheduled to be in Springfield on Tuesday to unveil the selection of Tower Square in downtown Springfield as the university's satellite center.
The university will lease 27,321 square feet on the second floor of the 30-floor building, which is owned by the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. and located at 1500 Main St. UMass plans to establish academic programs at the center starting in the fall 2014.
The university will also have the right to use 1,600 square feet on the ground level of the retail area of Tower Square, which was built in 1969. As part of the bid, Massachusetts Mutual offered the university a branded entrance to Tower Square from Bridge Street.
Robert Caret is shown speaking in Springfield in 2012.Mark M. Murray/The Republican file
The university in September received bids from the owners of four buildings.
Tower Square was picked over The Peter Pan Bus terminal, the 10-floor Harrison Place at 1391 Main St. and the 17-story One Financial Plaza at 1350 Main St.
The center will include academic programs to be offered by the UMass campuses in conjunction with UMassOnline and UMass Amherst's Springfield programs.
“Today is a great day for Springfield and the entire UMass system,” Patrick plans to say at the event, according to a press release. “This satellite center will bring vitality to downtown Springfield, and open up new educational and job opportunities for the residents of Springfield and beyond.”
“The satellite center represents a new chapter in the longstanding relationship between the University of Massachusetts and the city of Springfield,’’ Caret said in a prepared statement. “We are pleased to find suitable space that will allow the university to expand its presence and provide residents of the city and region with the type of high quality, affordable public higher education option that has come to define a UMass degree.’’
Caret said the center will significantly expand the university’s presence in Western Massachusetts and will unlock a range of degree opportunities for students that will be tailored to the meet the region’s workforce needs.
The satellite center will be a first of its kind for the University of Massachusetts system. UMass Amherst, located about 25 miles away from Springfield, will be the lead campus for the satellite center, with other UMass campuses providing academic programs.
The satellite center will complement UMass Amherst’s involvement in the Springfield area, where faculty and staff are engaged in more than 120 programs in health, fine arts and the creative economy, natural sciences, engineering, green industries, management, sports and education, the press release said.
The University of Massachusetts Building Authority received the four proposals after issuing a request last summer. The university was seeking 25,000 square feet of space suitable for classrooms, faculty offices, and other uses, with the option of doubling the amount of space at a later date.
The agreement with Tower Square includes a five-year lease, with two, five-year renewal options that could extend the lease for another 10 years.
Caret and other UMass officials cited several reasons for selecting Tower Square.
Caret said that it offers prominent branding opportunities including the first-floor retail space. Signs for the university will also be allowed on the exterior of the building.
In addition, the complex offers plenty of room for expansion and structured parking that will allows student and employees to enter the building from elevators in the parking garage. The property’s existing condition also requires fewer alterations than some of the alternatives, making Tower Square the more economical choice, the university said in the release.
In its bid, Massachusetts Mutual proposed a base rental rate of $11.50 per square foot including heating, cooling and electricity.
State Rep. Sean F. Curran, a Springfield Democrat who for several years has been working for a UMass Springfield center, said it was "terrific" that the university chose Tower Square.
Curran said he would work to specify funding for the center in the state budget for the fiscal year starting July 1.
The selection of Tower Square for the Springfield satellite center capped more than a year of research, planning, discussions, and focus groups involving UMass, Springfield residents, and leaders from education, business, politics, civic and community-based organization, the release said.
Tower Square has three full-service restaurants and a food court and is also is close to public transportation. It's only four blocks from the Peter Pan Bus Terminal and Amtrak train station and just a block from a boarding station for the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority.
Other UMass campuses are working on developing an assortment of academic programs that would be responsive to the educational, economic and social needs of Springfield area residents, the release said. Those academic programs would be offered in a blended manner that allows students to attend courses on-site and through UMassOnline.
UMassOnline will open an onsite office at the satellite center and make available the full array of UMassOnline courses and degrees offered by the five campuses, the release said. UMass campuses and other participating institutions, which are expected to include area community colleges, may offer their ``home’’ programs such as two-year associate degrees leading to bachelor’s degrees, as well as undergraduate and graduate degree programs in areas such as public health, advanced manufacturing, cyber security, teacher education and business administration, the release said.
The 11:30 a.m. announcement in the lobby of Tower Square on Tuesday was also scheduled to be attended by Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, a Springfield Democrat, state Secretary of Education Matthew H. Malone, UMass Board of Trustees Chairman Henry M. Thomas III, UMass at Amherst Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy and MassMutual Chairman, President and CEO Roger Crandall.
Caret's model for the planned Springfield center is "Universities at Shady Grove," a satellite center in Rockville, Md., for Maryland's state university system. Caret was instrumental in founding and developing the center in Maryland when he was president of Towson University before being hired as new UMass president in 2011.
``This is a momentous day as a great city and a great university formalize a relationship that has been a long time in the making,’’ said Thomas, who is a Springfield native, according to the release. ``To have a strong and vivid UMass presence in the heart of downtown Springfield represents a major step forward for our city."