The University of Massachusetts Boston has been through a lot. We all know the story—built on a dump, people went to jail, the story goes on. And here we are today, on a peninsula that is equal parts campus and construction site, with a seemingly endless budget deficit and a Science Building that has remained standing long after it should have.

In 2010, UMass Boston bought Bayside. For eight years, it has been the overflow parking lot. Last week, the university put the property up for sale. Suddenly, that annoying parking lot has the potential to be our solution. The Boston Globe recently reported that analysis of the property estimates that it has the potential to fetch $200 million or more in Boston’s real estate market.

The consequences of a financial influx of that magnitude, for lack of a better word, are extraordinary. Think about the laundry list of projects it would help with, and remember that on top of taking down substructures, we need to find a place to put everyone and everything in the old Science Building. Combined with the Baker administration’s $78 million contribution made last April to fix the crumbling garages, another $200 million has the potential to allow every project on campus to be completed without impacting the number on our tuition bill.

This, however, is all contingent on where the money goes. UMass Boston does not own Bayside—the UMass Building Authority does, a separate entity in charge of UMass capital projects, including real estate. However, every cent from the sale must be allocated to fixing infrastructure problems at UMass Boston that blow every other campus in the UMass system out of the water.

On top of financial incentives, UMass Boston could benefit from physical and academic partnerships of an eventual developer. It is my hope that the chosen organization will provide infrastructure on the site that incorporates our expanding campus and will be willing to work with our outstanding students and faculty to have a mutually beneficial relationship.

Now, step back and think about this in a larger context. When summer comes around, the roads will finally be done and new entrances and exits to and from campus will make getting here easier than it has ever been. The residence halls will be done, about which administrators discuss retention and graduation rates time and again. These two buildings have the potential to do wonders for not just those that have the opportunity to live in them, but for the entire campus. And to top it all off, in an email sent to the community on Jan. 31, Interim Chancellor Mills and his team have found a way to save the campus almost $100 million on the demolition of the substructure, an extraordinary accomplishment. Now imagine all of this in the context of a new and permanent chancellor, whomever that person ends up being.

UMass Boston has been through a lot. We face structural issues that surpass so many other universities. We still have our problems—dirt piles and parking fees included. We will continue to deal with and solve them. But if you look at the history of this school, it is absolutely impossible to deny that our campus is finally getting the attention we deserve as the only public research university in Boston. The decision to put Bayside up for sale is one that signals the University’s strong commitment to this campus, just as long as the money is reinvested into infrastructure solutions here. It also shows the dedication of the system to ensure that significant financial burdens will not be put on the backs of students. I know that this commitment will remain, and only get stronger, and that the University of Massachusetts Boston has an incredible future.

Gray Milkowski is the current Student Trustee at UMass Boston.