News & Updates

Mayor Walsh Dedicates Berklee's New Dorm and Academic Space in the Back Bay

Feb 26, 2014

On Wednesday Mayor Walsh joined Berklee College of Music President Roger Brown, Berklee faculty and students, members of the community, development team, and elected officials to dedicate the college's new dorm and academic space at 160 Massachusetts Avenue. The $100M project is the institution’s first ground up facility in Boston and is tailored to meet the specific needs of the renowned music institution.

"Berklee's facilities here combine traditional music education with cutting-edge media production," said Mayor Walsh. "It’s a great example of how the arts inspire us but they also lead the way in the innovation economy."

The 16-story tower contains 173 dorm rooms for 369 students and will free up housing for Boston residents. In addition to residences the upper floors include 23 practice rooms, 6 two-story common areas, a fitness center, and a 400-seat dining hall that doubles as a performance space. A 10-studio music production complex that is among the largest of its kind in the United States and nearing final installation is located two floors below grade. In addition a 4,200 square foot ground floor space is available for a restaurant tenant. The restaurant will offer a new dining option for those attending concerts at the nearby Boston Symphony Orchestra, and other area arts and theater venues.

The building, designed by William Rawn Associates, features a modern, mixed-use edifice that has created a new vertical core for the campus and replaced a one-story building. The Walters-Storyk Design Group designed the music production complex, its overall ergonomic and aesthetic master plan, and the acoustics/recording link for the performance space. Lee Kennedy, Co., Inc., was the project contractor.

160 Massachussets Ave had a robust review process as part of Berklee's Institutional Master Plan process with more than twenty-five Berklee Task Force and community meetings held. The project broke ground in November 2011 and created hundreds of construction jobs over the life of the project.

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