The Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers Association will open a learning center for industry professionals at 20 Blanchard Road in Burlington early next year.

Over the years, various Bay State hotels have hosted educational seminars and other events for the Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers Association. But beginning in 2006, the MMBA will have a place of its own to call home for learning purposes.

The MMBA Learning Center will open its doors next year in Burlington. The trade association recently signed a five-year lease, effective Jan. 1, 2006, for nearly 5,000 square feet of commercial office space at 20 Blanchard Road. RJ Kelly Co. of Burlington is the leaseholder.

According to Brandon Kelly, chief operating officer for RJ Kelly, the learning center is housed in a 60,000-square-foot building. The company is in the process of building out the space to suit the needs of its new tenant.

“It’s mostly going to be open space,” said Kelly.

The association has plans to develop a state-of-the-art training facility. The new space will supplement the association’s executive offices at 76 Canal St. in Boston and will be custom-designed to offer the latest technology and audiovisual aids for in-depth meeting and market presentations on all issues pertaining to banking, mortgage banking, lending and mortgage origination.

“We are extremely excited about the reality of creating and offering educational and training programs within the mortgage industry at this facility,” said Kevin M. Cuff, executive director of the MMBA, which is the largest mortgage association in New England. “Our long-range plan will be the development of a state-of-the-art training facility to accommodate sessions ranging from the intimate to over 150 mortgage professionals.”

The space will include a 2,950-square-foot training center with a small stage, drop-down view screen and projection technology embedded in the facility’s ceiling. Cuff said the space will hold between 120 and 125 trainees at a time with between six and eight people at each 30-inch table. Each table will also have electricity for those using laptops. The location will also feature a registration area and a smaller room with a conference table that will hold approximately 30 people. This space will be used for smaller breakout sessions.

The MMBA hopes to “capitalize on their strategic educational plan” while offering its membership and others in the real estate finance industry a training facility specifically designed to meet their needs.

“In the past, we have had problems offering programs and how we offered them,” said Robert F. Lavelle, chairman of the MMBA Education Committee and chairman-elect of the association. “Hotel contracts, scheduling conflicts, presentation quality and widespread marketing strategies were a constant concern in trying to ensure a return on investment for our overall strategic educational goals. The association’s educational efforts can now begin to consider more industry-wide strategies. These strategies may include other alliances and partnerships to better represent the industry’s complex training and facilitating needs.”

Lavelle added that creating a dedicated facility also gives members security in knowing where they send staff to be trained. He noted that the location, near Route 128, was chosen partly because of the terms on the lease and its proximity to members’ offices and a major highway.

“We believe this is a fairly central location,” said Lavelle.

Cuff said having a home base to train industry professionals will give the association the opportunity to answer questions about issues affecting the industry, such as ethics and regulatory compliance. As more legislative issues affect the lending industry, Cuff said now is the right time to establish a learning center. In the last year, a new predatory lending law has taken effect and there is another bill currently on the table involving an educational component to licensing mortgage professionals. While the MMBA has plans to tackle its own educational agenda, Cuff said the association will offer the space to member firms that need to conduct training of their own and don’t have the space.

Potential Partners
Lavelle said the size of the MMBA’s membership has grown over the last several years and therefore the number of students in classes has increased. Currently, the MMBA’s membership consists of approximately 450 companies, which include mortgage firms, mortgage brokers, commercial banks, thrifts, insurance companies and appraisers. Lavelle said it has become increasingly difficult to book adequate space for educational purposes. The education committee of the MMBA also has expanded in recent years from approximately five people to 20. According to Cuff, the MMBA offers about 70 educational seminars each year.

Lavelle and Cuff said the MMBA has been aggressive in its efforts to contribute to professionalism within the mortgage industry by educating the influx of newer employees into the business. Last year, the association formed a charitable foundation designed to support financial literacy, credit education and affordable housing. The creation of the Learning Center is another step toward completing the MMBA’s long-term plans.

“It is another part of our strategic initiative as it relates to the educational program,” Lavelle said.

As part of its mission, the MMBA works to ensure the strength of the Massachusetts residential real estate markets, expand homeownership prospects through affordability and to extend access to affordable housing. Kathleen C. Schreck, sales manager at Mortgage Network in Danvers and chairwoman of the MMBA, said a strong educational component has long been part of the association’s overall mission, as well.

“The association’s strategic educational plan has always included our colleagues in mortgage brokering, banking, our regulators at the [Massachusetts] Division of Banks, our friends at MassHousing and community groups all aimed at a coordinated effort in training the industry,” said Schreck. “We now have a tremendous opportunity to use the qualifications and experience offered to our membership and by our leadership to help contribute to the industry through a dedicated and long-range educational plan.”

While the learning center is still in its early stages, there are bigger plans for the location. Lavelle said the association hasn’t completely defined which groups its other strategic partners could be, but suggested trade associations in related industries would make strong partners. Cuff also extended an offer to the Massachusetts Mortgage Association and the Massachusetts Bankers Association to partner with the MMBA to use the facility. The association is considering moving its executive offices to the Burlington location in the future, as well.

Lavelle said the MMBA Learning Center is the first of its kind in the association’s 31-year history.

The MMBA Learning Center will host its first official event in mid-January with the association’s eight-week “Management Development Program in Residential Mortgage Lending (Course 1),” offered in conjunction with the Center for Continuing Education at Northeastern University. The entire curriculum, including tentative scheduling and lists of presenters offered by the MMBA, is available at www.massmba.com.