Community Presentation Archive
Below please find some recent Community Presentations. For construction updates of ongoing projects across Tufts University, click here.
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On Thursday, September 26, 2024 at 6 p.m., Tufts University hosted a community meeting to discuss the development of a significant new on-campus residence hall at 401 Boston Avenue across from the Medford/Tufts MBTA station.
At the meeting, panelists (listed below) provided information about this new transit-oriented, energy-efficient, mixed-use residence hall which will house undergraduate students. This will be the largest dorm project in the university's history and will significantly reduce the population of Tufts students residing in residential neighborhoods, freeing up housing for families in Medford and Somerville. The building's first floor will include retail space that will be open to the public.The community meeting was held on Zoom and was open to the public. After the presentation, neighbors participated in a question-and-answer session.
View Meeting Recording View Meeting Slide Deck
Panelists included
- Rocco DiRico (Executive Director, Government and Community Relations, Tufts University)
- Barb Stein (Vice President, Operations, Tufts University)
- Walker May (Executive Vice President, Capstone Development Partners)
- John H. Martin FAIA, LEED AP (Principal, Elkus Manfredi Architects)
- Eric Green (Vice President, Residential Group Manager, Erland Construction, Inc.)
- Liza Perry (Deputy Director, Government and Community Relations, Tufts University)
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On Wednesday, May 15, 2024 at 6 p.m., Tufts University hosted a community meeting to provide updates on the following topics:
- Recently completed and ongoing housing projects on the Medford/Somerville campus
- Ongoing academic renovation projects that are occurring this summer on the Medford/Somerville campus
- Recently completed athletic facilities
- Activities, programs, and events that Tufts University has recently hosted on campus
The community meeting was held on Zoom and was open to the public. After the presentation, neighbors participated in a question-and-answer session.
View Meeting Recording View Meeting Slide Deck
Panelists included:
- Rocco DiRico (Executive Director, Government and Community Relations)
- Leah Boudreau (Community Programs Specialist, Government and Community Relations)
- Ruth Bennett (Senior Director, Capital Programs)
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On Thursday, August 31, 2023 at 6 p.m., Tufts University hosted a community meeting to discuss the current project to replace the roof and upgrade mechanical systems at the Biomedical Research and Public Health Building (BRPH) building located at 120 Harrison Avenue on the university’s Health Sciences Campus in Boston. Interpretation of the meeting was available in Cantonese and Mandarin.
The community meeting was held on Zoom and was open to the public. After the presentation, neighbors participated in a question-and-answer session.
View Meeting Recording (English Version)
View Meeting Recording (Cantonese Version)
View Meeting Recording (Mandarin Version)
Panelists included:
- Liza Perry (Deputy Director, Government and Community Relations)
- Rocco DiRico (Executive Director, Government and Community Relations)
- Ruth Bennett (Senior Director, Capital Programs)
- Anthony Petrocchi (Senior Project Manager, Capital Programs)
- Anna Tse (Cantonese Interpreter)
- Terry Yin (Mandarin Interpreter)
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On Thursday, May 4 at 6 p.m., Tufts University hosted a community meeting to discuss the following topics:
- An update on all the recently completed and upcoming housing projects on the Medford/Somerville campus
- An update on the permitting and construction of the new on-campus residence hall at 401 Boston Avenue in Medford
- An update on upcoming construction projects that are occurring on campus over this summer
- An update on activities and events that Tufts University has recently hosted in the community
The community meeting was held on Zoom and was open to the public. After the presentation, neighbors participated in a question-and-answer session.
View Meeting Recording View Meeting Slide Deck
Panelists included:
- Rocco DiRico (Executive Director, Government and Community Relations)
- Ruth Bennett (Senior Director, Capital Programs)
- Maggie Carril (Communications Specialist, Government and Community Relations)
- Dan Bielenin, Senior Associate, William Rawn Associates
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Tufts University held a community meeting on Wednesday, April 26 at 6pm for neighbors to discuss plans to renovate and make a small addition to Bacon Hall at 530 Boston Avenue, which will also involve work at 520 Boston Avenue, 540 Boston Avenue, and 550 Boston Avenue. Tufts will also be making some landscape improvements in front of the building.
The community meeting was held on Zoom and was open to the public. After the presentation, neighbors participated in a question-and-answer session.
View Meeting Recording View Meeting Slide Deck
Panelists included:
Rocco DiRico (Executive Director of Government & Community Relations)
Leah Boudreau (Community Programs Specialist)
Katie Courtney (Associate Vice President, CannonDesign)
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Tufts University held a community meeting on Thursday, December 1 at 6pm for neighbors to discuss a new dormitory to be constructed on campus at 401 Boston Avenue. This transit oriented building will be situated across the street from the new Medford/Tufts Green Line station, and will also feature a plaza on Boston Avenue and ground floor retail space that will be open to the public. The proposed building will provide housing for undergraduate students. The community meeting was held on Zoom and was open to the public. After the presentation, neighbors participated in a question and answer session. Alicia Hunt, Director of Planning, Development and Sustainability for the City of Medford, attended the meeting on behalf of the city.
View Meeting Recording View Meeting Slide Deck
Panelists included:
- Rocco DiRico (Executive Director of Government & Community Relations)
- Leah Boudreau (Community Programs Specialist)
- Ruth Bennett (Senior Director of Capital Programs)
- Dan Bielenin (William Rawn Associates)
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Tufts University hosted a community meeting on Thursday, June 30th at 5pm on Zoom to discuss a new project that will impact the university’s athletic fields on College Avenue in Medford. Tufts University is proposing to add eight tennis courts to Field A at 161 College Avenue in Medford. At this meeting, Tufts staffed share the project plans with our neighbors, answer their questions, and listened to their feedback. Viktor Schrader from Medford’s Economic Development Director also attended the meeting.
Panelists included:
- Rocco DiRico (Government & Community Relations)
- John Morris (Athletics)
- Jen Whitney (Operations)
- John Hickok (CHA)
- Leah Boudreau (Government & Community Relations)
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Tufts University held a community meeting on Thursday, June 9th at 5pm for our Medford neighbors to discuss two new housing projects at 2-4 Capen Street and 50 Winthrop Street in Medford. In order to increase the number of undergraduate students housed on campus the university intends to deconstruct the houses at both properties and build apartment style housings for Juniors and Seniors, supervised by a graduate student residential director. These two projects will be part of our Community Housing (CoHo) development that already has houses on Winthrop Street, Capen Street, Bellevue Street, Fairmount Street, and University Avenue. The event was held on Zoom and was open to the public. After the presentation, neighbors participated in a question and answer session. Viktor Schrader, the Economic Development Director for the City of Medford, attended the meeting on behalf of the city.
View Meeting Recording View Meeting Slide Deck
Panelists included:
- Rocco DiRico (Executive Director of Government & Community Relations)
- Leah Boudreau (Community Programs Specialist)
- Ruth Bennett (Senior Director of Capital Programs)
- Chris Hogan (Construction Program Manager)
- Gerry Frank (Architect)
- Adam Dash (Attorney)
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Tufts University held a community meeting on Thursday, February 10th at 6pm for our Medford neighbors to discuss a renovation project that will impact Huskins baseball field on College Avenue in Medford. In order to increase the use of Tufts’ baseball field, the university intends to replace the grass playing surface with turf this summer. The university also plans to add lights to the field. The proposed changes will allow the university to host more events for Tufts baseball, intramural sports, and Medford youth sports. Providing more flexible uses of the field will benefit both the city and the university. The event was held on Zoom and was open to the public. After the presentation, neighbors participated in a question and answer session. Alicia Hunt, the Director of Planning, Development and Sustainability at the City of Medford, attended the meeting on behalf of Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn.
View Meeting Recording View Meeting Slide Deck
Panelists included:
- John Morris (Director of Athletics)
- Jennifer Whitney (Senior Capital Project Manager)
- Rocco DiRico (Executive Director of Government and Community Relations)
- Liza Perry (Deputy Director of Government and Community Relations)
- Johnathan Hickok (Project Team Leader at CHA Consulting, Inc.)
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Tufts University held a Community Meeting on Tuesday, June 1, 2021 for our Somerville neighbors to discuss a new project on Lower Campus Road in Somerville. Tufts University intends to replace the grass playing surface of the football field with turf using organic, sustainably sourced infill material. The university also plans to add lights and a scoreboard to the area surrounding the field. The event was held on Zoom and was open to the public. This meeting was hosted by Somerville Ward 6 City Councilor Lance Davis. After the presentation, neighbors participated in a question and answer session.
Panelists included:
- Grethcen Von Grossman (Director of Capital Programs)
- John Morris (Director of Athletics)
- Raymond Santangelo (Senior Project Manager)
- Matt Malone (Assistant Athletic Director)
- Rocco DiRico (Executive Director of Government and Community Relations)
- Leah Boudreau (Community Programs Specialist)
- David Nardone (Principal at Stantec)
- Sean O'Connell (Landscape Architect at Stantec)
- Adam Dash, Esq. (Legal Counsel)
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Tufts University held a Community Meeting on Thursday, January 21, 2021 to give our Medford/Somerville neighbors a recap of our fall semester, provide information on our spring 2021 semester plans and answer questions.
The event was held on Zoom and was open to public. The meeting was hosted by Mary Jeka (Senior Vice President of University Relations) and Rocco DiRico (Director of Government and Community Relations).
Presentations included:
Rocco DiRico, Director of Government & Community Relations - (PDF)
Anthony P. Monaco, President of Tufts University - (PDF)
Michael Jordan, University Infection Control Health Director - (PDF)Panelists included:
- Marie Caggiano, Medical Director
- Gerard “Chip” Coletta, Head of Public Safety
- Camille Lizarribar, Dean of Student Affairs
- Chris Sedore, Chief Information Officer
- Barbara Stein, Vice President of Operations
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Tufts University held a Community Meeting on Tuesday, August 4, to inform community members about the fall 2020 semester plans and to provide an overview of new safety guidelines. The event was held over Zoom and was open to the public. After the presentation, neighbors participated in a question and answer session.
The presenters included:
- Anthony P. Monaco, Tufts University President
- Rocco DiRico, Director of Government and Community Relations
The panelists included:
- Mary Jeka, Senior Vice President and General Counsel
- Michael Jordan MD, MPH, University Infection Control Health Director
- Barbara Stein, Vice President of Operations
- Kevin Kraft, Dean of Student Affairs
- Gerard Coletta, Head of Public Safety
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Tufts Administrative Building (169 Holland St, Somerville)
Tufts University held a Community Presentation on Wednesday, April 24, to inform community members about summer programs available to them and to provide an overview of upcoming summer projects. The event was held in the Tufts Administrative Building and was open to the public. After the presentation, neighbors participated in a question and answer session.
The presenters included:
- Gretchen Von Grossmann, Director of Capital Programs
- Ruth Bennett, Director of Strategic Capital Programs
- Lois Stanley, Director of Campus Planning
- Rocco DiRico, Director of Government & Community Relations
The event was hosted by the Office of Government & Community Relations at Tufts University.
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574 Boston Ave, Medford
Tufts University held a Community Presentation on Thursday, March 21, to inform community members about summer programs available to them and to provide an overview of upcoming summer projects. The event was held in 574 Boston Ave and was open to the public. After the presentation, neighbors participated in a question and answer session.
The presenters included:
- Gretchen Von Grossmann, Director of Capital Programs
- Ruth Bennett, Director of Strategic Capital Programs
- Lois Stanley, Director of Campus Planning
- Rocco DiRico, Director of Government & Community Relations
The event was hosted by the Office of Government & Community Relations at Tufts University.
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Breed Hall (51 Winthrop Street)
Tufts University held a Community Presentation on Wednesday, May 30, to inform community members about summer programs available to them and to provide an overview of upcoming summer projects. The event was held in Breed Hall and was open to the public. After the presentation, neighbors participated in a group discussion exercise with Tufts employees.
The presenters included:
- Gretchen Von Grossmann, Director of Capital Programs
- Chris Rossi, Associate Dean of Student Affairs
- Matt Austin, Associate Director of Housing Operations
- Barbara Rubel, Director of Government & Community Relations (Somerville)
- Rocco DiRico, Director of Government & Community Relations (Medford)
The event was hosted by the Office of Government & Community Relations at Tufts University.
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Breed Hall (51 Winthrop Street)
Tufts University held a Community Presentation on Wednesday, April 25, to inform community members about programs and resources available to them and to provide an overview of recently completed and upcoming projects.
The event began at 6:30 p.m. in Breed Hall, 51 Winthrop St., and was open to the public. After the presentation, neighbors participated in a question and answer session.
The presenters included:
- Barbara Stein, Vice President of Operations
- Lois Stanley, Director of Campus Planning
- Robert Chihade, Director of Real Estate
- Barbara Rubel, Director of Government & Community Relations (Somerville)
- Rocco DiRico, Director of Government & Community Relations (Medford)
The event was hosted by the Office of Government & Community Relations at Tufts University.