Finegold Alexander designs Brockton's 3 university collaborative

Governor Deval Patrick, the city of Brockton and architectural firm Finegold Alexander + Associates Inc. celebrated the kickoff of the Downtown Brockton Higher Education Collaborative project on November 24. Three colleges will reside in one campus, to be situated at 226 Main St.; Massasoit Community College, Bridgewater State University, and UMass Boston together will serve 1,000 students at the site. Finegold Alexander is the project architect. The expected cost will total $21 million in state funds. Design partners on the project also include Dober Lidsky Mathey - Higher Education Facilities Planners and Chan Architecture & Urban Design - Urban Designers. Matthew Malone, the State Secretary of Education attended the event and expounded on how this first-of-its-kind campus will impact the community. "Downtown is going to be revitalized. It's going to be revitalized by the investments we're making and the investments we will make in downtown," Malone said at the event. The Collaborative's mission is to create a downtown Brockton-centered learning community providing support and a seamless pathway to student success using effective and innovative technologies and pedagogies. This goal is to provide accessible, affordable certificate, degree and short-term training programs for students. "As the architects of numerous educational institutions, our team looks forward to creating this wonderfully collaborative and inspirational learning space," said Jim Alexander, principal, Finegold Alexander. "In addition our firm is honored to be able to allow Brockton to retain one of the gems of its inner city, while adding onto it in a way that inspires 21st century learners."