Today, 500 Huntington Avenue is the home of the Wentworth softball, soccer, and lacrosse teams. Tomorrow, it could be the site of a transformative development project for the Institute.
The Wentworth-owned property is being offered as a long-term ground lease to developers. The project, which has been approved as a Planned Development Area (PDA) by the Boston Redevelopment Authority, consists of two buildings and a total of 640,000 gross square feet along this prominent section of Huntington Avenue.
Building on one of the Institute’s strategic initiatives—“embrace a culture of innovation and creativity”—one building will house the new Wentworth Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation, which will include the Wentworth Welcome Center, the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Accelerate), the Center for Community and Learning Partnerships, interdisciplinary lab spaces, meeting rooms, auditoriums, and gallery spaces showcasing student work. The center will occupy 78,400 square feet and five stories of this six-story building. A second building, 18 stories high, will contain 15,000 square feet of retail space and 546,000 square feet of office, research, and development space. The Institute plans to collaborate with corporate partners leasing the taller building to create research, learning, and co-op opportunities for the Wentworth community.
As a result of this project, a brand-new athletic field will open, as Sweeney Field will be relocated to the site of the current Parker Street parking lot. Construction at 500 Huntington Ave. could begin as early as 2016.
