Tufts University is seeking approval for its largest-ever dorm project at 401 Boston Ave. in Medford. The university is partnering with Capstone Development Partners on the 667-bed project. Image courtesy of Elkus Manfredi Architects
Tufts University is proposing its largest-ever dorm project in partnership with Capstone Development Partners.
The project would reduce Tufts students’ presence in the Medford and Somerville rental markets, Tufts officials said. The school’s undergraduate enrollment totals 6,662, an increase of 700 students since before the pandemic.
Designed by Elkus Manfredi Architects, the two buildings would include “apartment-style housing” for juniors and seniors, primarily suites containing four bedrooms with shared kitchen, living and bathrooms.
The project, which Tufts officials said could break ground in spring 2025, has attracted criticism from Medford Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn.
In a Dec. 3 letter to the city’s Community Development Board, Lungo-Koehn echoed complaints from residents of the surrounding Hillside neighborhood about the 10-story height of the two dorm buildings totaling 275,800 square feet.
“Reducing the hours of sunlight and increasing the amount of darkness in a community can have substantial side effects, especially on one’s mental health,” Lungo-Koehn wrote, adding that the project is being proposed under a “rushed process.”
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But Lungo-Koehn and other Massachusetts officials have limited powers to block college-sponsored developments under state law. The Dover Amendment exempts nonprofit educational institutions from many land-use regulations.
To comply with the legal requirements under the Dover Amendment, Tufts and Capstone plan to form a nonprofit educational corporation which will ground-lease the property from Tufts, according to a letter submitted to the city from attorneys Christian Regnier and Patrick Gallagher of Goulston & Storrs, representing Tufts University.
Tufts officials have stated the project would reduce the off-campus student population in Medford and Somerville.
In a statement, Tufts spokesman Patrick Collins noted that the project is shorter than the maximum 12 stories allowed under Medford zoning and will contribute $3 million in permitting fees, city affordable housing trust payments and a neighborhood improvement fund. Shrinking the project would make the apartments unaffordable for students, Collins wrote in an email.
“The university chose this location because we think it is the best option for achieving the shared goals that the city and university have discussed,” Collins wrote.
