For Immediate Release: 10/20/2010 9:48 am
Worcester, MA (October 20, 2010) - Recently, the University of Massachusetts Medical School purchased residential property at 72 Flagg Street. The University House — as it will be called — will extend the Medical School’s presence in the City. As a condition of employment, the University House will become a residence for the current medical school chancellor. The first floor of the University House will be used for community, university and medical school functions, including fundraising events. The property will also be used to host medical school guests. As part of its ongoing relationship with the City, the Medical School has agreed to make voluntary payments to the City for the University House equal to 100 percent of the real estate taxes (approximately $11,700), and subject to a 2 ½ percent annual increase. These payments will be used to support the operations of the City’s Division of Public Health.
Much like all of Worcester's universities and colleges, UMass Medical School positively contributes to the community in a number of ways. In addition to this PILOT, the Medical School is providing pro bono medical expertise and professional staff time to draft a comprehensive community health assessment for the Division of Public Health. Utilizing data from the Medical School will help to identify priorities and develop strategies to meet the City’s most critical public health needs. Also, pursuant to the public health task force report, UMMS has agreed to consider a faculty appointment for the City’s Commissioner of Public Health to ensure attracting the most highly-qualified candidates for this critically important position.
This partnership is different from others in that UMass Medical School is state-owned. As such, the City receives a PILOT in the amount of approximately $254,000 from the Commonwealth for land owned by the Medical School. The voluntary payment will be in addition to the state-owned land PILOT and is not intended to replace or reduce that existing source of funding.
Worcester City Manager Michael V. O'Brien is grateful to UMass Medical School and the Commonwealth for their positive response to work in partnership with the City and financially contribute to the tax base, and looks forward to continued discussions with the Medical School.
