Brown University, an Ivy League college in Providence, R.I., will fund the construction and renovation of three ongoing campus projects through $100.7 million it raised through a bond.
The Providence Journal reported in August that the biggest projects will be two new residence halls being built on Brook Street, near the Power Street parking garage and the Vartan Gregorian Quad. The buildings will house 350 third- and fourth-year students, according to Brown's website.
Combined, the two buildings will encompass 125,000 sq. ft. of space.
Initial plans, according to the news source, called for Brown to build a 375-bed dormitory, which was later trimmed down to 350 beds, and a retail space was added to one of the buildings.
Like much of the Brown campus, the buildings are made primarily of brick, with texture and detail at windows and corners, along with accents of terracotta and wood. The interior structure includes cross-laminated timber, which minimizes the environmental impact of each residence hall, giving the interior ceilings a warmth visible from the street, according to a description on Brown's online project page.
The two new dormitories, under construction at 250 and 259 Brook St., replace a small strip mall and a parking lot.
The final steel beam was set into place in July.
Brown Utilizing Funds to Buy Other Properties
The Rhode Island Health and Educational Building Corp. (RIHEBC), a self-supporting state agency that aids nonprofits finance school and health care building projects, closed on the $87.2-million bond for Brown in July.
While the university only borrowed $87.2 million, it was sold at a $13.5-million premium, generating a total of $100.7 million for the university, RIHEBC Executive Director Kim Mooers said in a news release. Since 1968, the corporation has facilitated a total of 27 bonds for Brown, worth $1.3 billion, RIHEBC noted.
In a separate deal, Brown recently bought 10 properties in Providence's Jewelry District for $16 million from Care New England, with plans to build a new lab in that part of the city.
In addition, the university purchased the 174-unit River House apartments on Point Street, also in the Jewelry District, for $75 million in 2021. That building is intended to become housing for graduate students.
Brown was a central player, as well, in the redevelopment of the old power station next door to River House in Providence's South Street Landing complex, which hosts Brown offices and a nursing education center for the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College.
Churchill House to Get More Space
A portion of the money that Brown received also will be used to construct an expansion to Churchill House, at 155 Angell St., that is to include space for the university's Department of Africana Studies, and the Rites and Reason Theatre, the Journal learned.
According to Brown's website, the building, first constructed in 1907 for the Rhode Island Women's Club, will undergo an extensive renovation, including a two-story addition that will add 3,000 sq. ft., a new terrace, and an updated entranceway.
A comprehensive study by the university concluded that the addition and renovation to Churchill House are needed due to the growth of the Africana Studies program.
Brown's Lincoln Field Building on the Simmons Quadrangle is another beneficiary of the multi-million bond sale as it will pay for a new addition to the structure, the Providence newspaper reported. The building is home to the university's Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences.
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