Students who remain displaced from their dorms in the East Residence Hall will move to apartments at the Harbor Point on the Bay complex for the rest of the semester, the university announced Wednesday.
The apartment complex, which is popular among UMass Boston students, is located on the north side of Mt. Vernon Street, just across the street from the residence halls. Capstone On-Campus Management, the management company that operates UMass Boston’s residence halls, arranged the leases with Corcoran Jennison Management Companies, which operates Harbor Point.
“Students will begin transitioning to these apartments through a staged move-in process in the coming days,” Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Karen Ferrer-Muñiz and Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance Kathleen Kirleis wrote in a joint email.
According to an email sent to residents Wednesday morning, students will be housed in two-bedroom apartments with two students per bedroom. “We are actively working to carry over roommate matches as much as possible,” COCM wrote. “Harbor Point will require all students to complete a background check and acknowledge their Rules and Regulations.”
Utilities and internet connectivity will be included. COCM will also provide furniture, as Harbor Point apartments are not furnished. “This will include beds, desks, chairs, and a couch.”
COCM also said that university policies and the student code of conduct continue to apply at Harbor Point. “Although Resident Assistants and Community Directors will not be assigned to Harbor Point, university staff will provide case management and follow-up support to students living in Harbor Point,” the company wrote.
“With this placement, all students who indicated they required housing following the pipe burst have now been offered stable, longer-term housing placements,” Ferrer-Muñiz and Kirleis wrote.
More than 600 students were displaced after a pipe burst on the 10th floor of the East Residence Hall flooded the building. Residential floors remained closed for nearly three weeks before students who live in areas that were not below the flood were allowed to return Friday. Students whose rooms and belongings sustained water damage, which included approximately 91 students in 50 rooms, officials said, relocated to dorms in Emerson College’s Little Building Feb. 22.
“Harbor Point provides proximity to campus and will allow students to maintain access to university dining, academic resources, and campus life while offering greater stability for the remainder of the spring semester,” Ferrer-Muñiz and Kirleis wrote.
They wrote, “We are grateful to the many teams across the university, as well as our partners at COCM and Harbor Point, who have worked tirelessly to secure these solutions and support our students during this challenging time.”
