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Post by trimster on Mar 3, 2021 10:39:15 GMT -5
One of Holy Cross' neighboring colleges, Becker, is in real danger of closing. COVID exacerbated a bad financial situation according to the Worcester Telegram. According to their President, talks to merge with another Worcester College ended in January. The President also said Admissions has stopped recruiting potential new students. Very sad to hear news like this.
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Post by rf1 on Mar 3, 2021 11:20:03 GMT -5
What Worcester College was it looking to merge with? I highly doubt it was Holy Cross, Clark, or WPI and none of the other city schools make much sense either. I would have thought several small schools outside the city would have been better fits - Nichols and Anna Maria.
Becker's Worcester campus closing would certainly have an effect on the social scene at WPI, particularly for its frats. The two schools are just a few blocks apart. Their enrollments historically used to skew by gender with WPI being all or mostly male and Becker being mostly female. The old joke in my days at WPI was that Tech students were pursuing a BS and Becker women an MRS. Its effect at WPI would today however be somewhat less than the past as women now make up 40% of its enrollment.
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Post by A Clock Tower Purple on Mar 3, 2021 11:35:36 GMT -5
One of Holy Cross' neighboring colleges, Becker, is in real danger of closing. COVID exacerbated a bad financial situation according to the Worcester Telegram. According to their President, talks to merge with another Worcester College ended in January. The President also said Admissions has stopped recruiting potential new students. Very sad to hear news like this. Not necessarily the case, as no where does it specifically state that the affiliation partner Becker was seeking was a "Worcester college". |
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Post by Crucis#1 on Mar 3, 2021 12:08:56 GMT -5
If Becker does close, wonder if HC would be interested in acquiring as a lease or purchasing either the Leicester or Worcester properties for student housing and additional academic facilities?
With the need to de-density the easy street dorms and to build additional housing, these properties may solve an immediate need.
There are possibilities for academic coordination and innovation between HC and WPI using the Worcester property.
Either property would provide the needed flexible housing and academic space that HC could use for the immediate future.
Any thoughts regarding the physical conditions of either campus and how HC could use the Becker properties in the future? The price for purchase may be attractive.
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Post by gks on Mar 3, 2021 12:12:41 GMT -5
Becker's Worcester campus is in a residential neighborhood and a lot of their buildings are old houses. The value of these to private developers/owners will be high.
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Post by Ray on Mar 3, 2021 12:24:11 GMT -5
And due to proximity, I would think that any buildings that aren't privately developed would make much more sense for integration with WPI than HC.
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Post by rf1 on Mar 3, 2021 12:38:50 GMT -5
Becker's Worcester campus property is for the most part outside WPI's interest area as it is on the other south side of Highland Street/Route 9. Most of WPI's recent expansion has been in the opposite directions to its north and east. The school acquired or built five new facilities in the Gateway Park development (3 academic buildings, a dorm, and a parking garage). There are presently two large construction projects in process at WPI - a new 100,000sf $113m academic & research building on a former parking lot by its library and a new 384 bed residence hall (108,000sf) on the site of the former Salisbury Garden Estates on Park Ave (by Institute Park).
Becker Worcester Campus map
WPI Campus Map
www.wpi.edu/sites/default/files/docs/Offices/WPI-Police/WPI_2DMap_2016_web.pdf |
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Post by bfoley82 on Mar 3, 2021 15:22:39 GMT -5
Becker's Worcester campus is in a residential neighborhood and a lot of their buildings are old houses. The value of these to private developers/owners will be high. The Leicester campus is basically the town common so you would think the town would have use for it. Some of the dorms in Leicester are just large houses so they will not have a problem getting rid of them. |
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Mar 3, 2021 15:42:00 GMT -5
If Becker does close, wonder if HC would be interested in acquiring as a lease or purchasing either the Leicester or Worcester properties for student housing and additional academic facilities? With the need to de-density the easy street dorms and to build additional housing, these properties may solve an immediate need. There are possibilities for academic coordination and innovation between HC and WPI using the Worcester property. Either property would provide the needed flexible housing and academic space that HC could use for the immediate future. Any thoughts regarding the physical conditions of either campus and how HC could use the Becker properties in the future? The price for purchase may be attractive. I don't think so. Leicester campus is too distant, and even the Worcester campus is pretty distant. www.becker.edu/student-life/campus-life/residence-life/on-campus-housing/worcester/The two largest halls might attract interest from another school, but together, their capacity is only about a fourth of what HC is planning to build. I could see Worcester State University having an interest in those two halls. The other residence halls, from the style, look to have been built at least a 100 years ago, possibly as mansions. |
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Post by Tom on Mar 3, 2021 16:17:53 GMT -5
WPI might be expanding in the opposite direction, but they're still the only school close enough to really consider it. Maybe MCPHS
I hope whatever happens, the monument commemorating baseballs first no hitter remains intact
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Post by bfoley82 on Mar 3, 2021 17:06:31 GMT -5
WPI might be expanding in the opposite direction, but they're still the only school close enough to really consider it. Maybe MCPHS I hope whatever happens, the monument commemorating baseballs first no hitter remains intact You ever been to UMass-Lowell? Their campus is all over the city...nowhere near each other |
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Post by A Clock Tower Purple on Mar 3, 2021 18:09:52 GMT -5
^ apples to bowling balls. If Tech or MA Pharm had 16k on-campus students as Lowell does, buildings would be all over Worc as well.
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Post by Crucis#1 on Mar 3, 2021 18:56:31 GMT -5
WPI might be expanding in the opposite direction, but they're still the only school close enough to really consider it. Maybe MCPHS I hope whatever happens, the monument commemorating baseballs first no hitter remains intact You ever been to UMass-Lowell? Their campus is all over the city...nowhere near each other UMass Lowell was two separate institutions, Lowell State on the south side of the Merrimack River and Lowell Tech on the north side. The schools merged in 1975 as the University of Lowell and in 1991 joined the UMass system. There are three campus clusters. North, South and East. |
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Post by longsuffering on Mar 3, 2021 20:17:05 GMT -5
Becker may be currently upside down due to it's dependence on tuition and not being able to reduce it's expenses as quickly as it's revenue has dropped during the pandemic. But they have offerings that do meet a need in the marketplace. It's too bad the State doesn't have a revolving fund to help save small colleges instead of help coordinate their smooth closing.
Higher education is an important industry in the Bay State. It would be politically untenable for the City to support Becker to help it right size and stay open because it's a private college. But it would actually only take a fraction of the money the City has pledged to bring minor league baseball to town and the Woo Sox are privately owned also. The white elephant stadium will be city owned but not the money making entity.
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Post by Wormtown Railers Fan on Mar 3, 2021 21:19:57 GMT -5
Becker may be currently upside down due to it's dependence on tuition and not being able to reduce it's expenses as quickly as it's revenue has dropped during the pandemic. But they have offerings that do meet a need in the marketplace. It's too bad the State doesn't have a revolving fund to help save small colleges instead of help coordinate their smooth closing. Higher education is an important industry in the Bay State. It would be politically untenable for the City to support Becker to help it right size and stay open because it's a private college. But it would actually only take a fraction of the money the City has pledged to bring minor league baseball to town and the Woo Sox are privately owned also. The white elephant stadium will be city owned but not the money making entity. The Woo Sox project is not just the stadium. It is a redevelopment of acres of polluted property on both sides of Madison Street near downtown. It has been an empty eyesore for 50 years and would continue to be if not for this project. Keeping a failing college afloat would not have the same impact on the city. Another college can assume the assets. If that doesn’t happen the campus buildings will be acquired and repurposed by developers. |
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Post by bfoley82 on Mar 3, 2021 22:02:23 GMT -5
Becker may be currently upside down due to it's dependence on tuition and not being able to reduce it's expenses as quickly as it's revenue has dropped during the pandemic. But they have offerings that do meet a need in the marketplace. It's too bad the State doesn't have a revolving fund to help save small colleges instead of help coordinate their smooth closing. Higher education is an important industry in the Bay State. It would be politically untenable for the City to support Becker to help it right size and stay open because it's a private college. But it would actually only take a fraction of the money the City has pledged to bring minor league baseball to town and the Woo Sox are privately owned also. The white elephant stadium will be city owned but not the money making entity. The Woo Sox project is not just the stadium. It is a redevelopment of acres of polluted property on both sides of Madison Street near downtown. It has been an empty eyesore for 50 years and would continue to be if not for this project. Keeping a failing college afloat would not have the same impact on the city. Another college can assume the assets. If that doesn’t happen the campus buildings will be acquired and repurposed by developers. Economic impact studies on Sports Stadiums are some of the biggest fudging of numbers out there. Did the city need to spend $104.5 million on that site? Could they have built housing in that area for people and put in the same businesses with more economic impact for 365 days a year? |
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Post by longsuffering on Mar 3, 2021 23:56:07 GMT -5
Becker may be currently upside down due to it's dependence on tuition and not being able to reduce it's expenses as quickly as it's revenue has dropped during the pandemic. But they have offerings that do meet a need in the marketplace. It's too bad the State doesn't have a revolving fund to help save small colleges instead of help coordinate their smooth closing. Higher education is an important industry in the Bay State. It would be politically untenable for the City to support Becker to help it right size and stay open because it's a private college. But it would actually only take a fraction of the money the City has pledged to bring minor league baseball to town and the Woo Sox are privately owned also. The white elephant stadium will be city owned but not the money making entity. The Woo Sox project is not just the stadium. It is a redevelopment of acres of polluted property on both sides of Madison Street near downtown. It has been an empty eyesore for 50 years and would continue to be if not for this project. Keeping a failing college afloat would not have the same impact on the city. Another college can assume the assets. If that doesn’t happen the campus buildings will be acquired and repurposed by developers. Fair points that it did need some catalyst to get the stagnant Wyman Gordon brownfield area developed. That had been advocated for by politicians and editorials for decades with little action. Also fair that the Becker properties are woven into the neighborhood and can be used for housing and offices...if the demand is there. In the 90s I used to walk in that area and formed the opinion that Becker was an anchor that saved that neighborhood and some of it's beautiful, well maintained older buildings. I remember chatting with someone who told me that the house next to the main building was an original Sears and Roebucks house that had been bought from the Sears catalogue. I don't expect Worcester to bail out Becker but wish the State had more resources to help fix instead of just close colleges in trouble. |
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Post by longsuffering on Mar 4, 2021 0:03:10 GMT -5
The Woo Sox project is not just the stadium. It is a redevelopment of acres of polluted property on both sides of Madison Street near downtown. It has been an empty eyesore for 50 years and would continue to be if not for this project. Keeping a failing college afloat would not have the same impact on the city. Another college can assume the assets. If that doesn’t happen the campus buildings will be acquired and repurposed by developers. Economic impact studies on Sports Stadiums are some of the biggest fudging of numbers out there. Did the city need to spend $104.5 million on that site? Could they have built housing in that area for people and put in the same businesses with more economic impact for 365 days a year? They obviously spent too much. I always had fun watching games at Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field and that stadium cost taxpayers nothing...as well as costing HC nothing. A classic two-fer for town and gown. The hot dogs aren't going to taste better in a $104.5 million dollar park, but they will cost more. |
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Post by rf1 on Mar 8, 2021 10:05:19 GMT -5
The more I read and hear about Becker, the question is not IF they will close but WHEN will they officially announce it. The college is currently working on future school paths for students in its different majors. There does not appear to be a big effort in saving the school as energy seems more directed to student transitioning.
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Post by longsuffering on Mar 8, 2021 18:56:12 GMT -5
The more I read and hear about Becker, the question is not IF they will close but WHEN will they officially announce it. The college is currently working on future school paths for students in its different majors. There does not appear to be a big effort in saving the school as energy seems more directed to student transitioning. That is a shame. They didn't drain their endowment (4 million?) and they offer relevant majors. You would think it would be a matter of right sizing expenses to revenue with the help of the sale of any extra buildings or land that are not critical and perhaps leasing space as needed to meet current demand. |
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Post by Wormtown Railers Fan on Mar 29, 2021 11:42:16 GMT -5
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Post by thecrossisback on Mar 29, 2021 13:35:08 GMT -5
Worcester State should add some more students. Interesting to see if any athletes join the Lancers.
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Mar 29, 2021 14:30:23 GMT -5
A lot of colleges are in trouble. As one after another closes it reduces by a little bit the competition for students. Some college leaders must be thinking "We cannot last much longer, but if we can hold on until enough competitors close we'll be able to survive". 400 or 500 students that would have enrolled in Becker this coming Fall will now need to find another school, increasing demand by a tiny bit for other colleges. I do understand that some may choose not to go to college--just trying to illustrate the dynamics of desperation for near-to-failing colleges. |
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Post by newfieguy74 on Mar 29, 2021 14:37:57 GMT -5
I confess I knew little about Becker. I was surprised about five years ago when my accountant told me his son was going there. Apparently they had a video gaming design major that was highly thought of. Becker seems to have carved out a niche for itself.
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Mar 29, 2021 15:06:23 GMT -5
Seemed
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