Boston Community College Debuts Student Success Center

Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of a new Student Success Center on its campus in Boston, Mass., according to a news release. The 56,000-square-foot building is the college’s first new facility in more than ten years, and it plays home to the College Library & Learning commons, academic advising, coaching, and wraparound services to support students.

The university partnered with NBBJ as the project architect and the State’s Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) and Bond Building and Construction for planning, engineering, and construction. The news release reports that all of the college’s buildings but one are about 50 years old and were designed to accommodate about 5,000 students. The campus has since tripled its student population and has seen an accumulation of deferred maintenance issues.

“Today, we are celebrating a new space that will benefit BHCC’s student community now and for years to come, improving their experience and maximizing the resources available to them,” said Massachusetts Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler. ”I want to share a strong congratulations to the BHCC leadership team and the entire student community for nurturing this project forward.”

The building was designed to be Net-Zero-Energy-ready, based on Passive House principles and including sustainability features like a geothermal well field on-campus, a future photovoltaic array, and a “highly insulated, high-performing envelope,” according to the news release.

“It is our genuine pleasure to deliver the space that your students deserve,” said DCAMM Commissioner Baacke. “Your students, faculty, and staff have been creating transformative experiences for 50 years, and they’ve been doing that despite the facilities. Now, they'll be doing it with the facilities that help make their jobs easier and not harder.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Pitzer College

    Designing for Change in Higher Ed Learning Environments

    Higher education will continue to evolve, and learning environments must evolve with it. By prioritizing adaptable infrastructure, thoughtful reuse, strong energy performance, and wellness-centered design, campuses can create spaces that support learning today while remaining flexible for the future.

  • DFW-Area District Opens New Replacement Middle School

    The Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District near Fort Worth, Texas, recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new replacement middle school campus, according to a news release. The new facility for Wayside Middle School, originally established in 1964, was built on the site of the former district administration building and funded through Bond Proposition A in 2023.

  • Academy of Classical Education Breaks Ground in Louisiana

    Charter Schools USA (CSUSA) recently announced the groundbreaking of a new public charter school in Covington, La., according to a news release. The Academy of Classical Education at Covington will enroll students in grades K–8 and is scheduled for completion in August 2026, just in time for the new school year.

  • abstract illustration of school gym

    How the Gymnasium Can Serve as a Model for Learning Space Design

    Multipurpose gyms work because flexibility was built into the brief from the start, not retrofitted later. The same logic applies to academic spaces.