BOSTON, MA – State Treasurer Steven Grossman, Chairman of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (“MSBA”), and Katherine Craven, MSBA Executive Director, today announced that the MSBA Board voted to approve funding for the addition and renovation project at Forest Park Middle School. The next step in the process is for Springfield and the MSBA to enter into a Project Funding Agreement which will detail the project’s scope and budget and set forth the terms and conditions under which the city will receive its grant from the MSBA.
Forest Park is a wait list project that the MSBA inherited from the former program. This project includes the renovation of 140,000 gross square feet and the construction of an 8,800 square foot addition. The MSBA grant for Forest Park Middle School is being combined with a grant converted from Balliet Elementary School. The total project budget is $43 million with the MSBA contributing 90% of eligible project costs. The total MSBA grant for the project is $39 million.
“This is a great day for the City of Springfield, the students of Forest Park and the MSBA. I am pleased that the MSBA Board approved this grant of $39 million. We have worked together long and hard and now we have plans for an efficient, sustainable, affordable and much improved Forest Park that will save not only local taxpayers but also taxpayers state-wide,” said State Treasurer Steven Grossman.
“The addition and renovation project at Forest Park will address deficiencies in the mechanical, electrical and structural systems, allowing the teachers to better deliver their educational program,” stated Katherine Craven, MSBA Executive Director.
The MSBA strives to find the right-sized, most fiscally responsible and educationally appropriate solutions to create safe and sound learning environments. The MSBA is committed to protecting the taxpayer’s dollar by improving the school building grant process and avoiding the mistakes of the past in the funding and construction of school facilities. In its six year history, the MSBA has made $7.5 billion in reimbursements to cities, towns and regional school districts for school construction projects. These timely payments have saved municipalities over $2.9 billion in avoided local interest costs and have provided much needed cash flow to communities in these difficult economic times.
