UMass Dartmouth Begins $100 Million LARTS Building Renovation

Chancellor Mark Fuller told a recent legislative committee hearing that a $100 million reconstruction of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Liberal Arts and Sciences (LARTS) building, the most heavily used building on the decades-old campus, is underway.

The UMD website says the reconstruction project should take about 18 months. "Building occupancy and reopening will occur before the spring 2027 semester," according to the site.

State House News Service reported Fuller told the Joint Committee on Higher Education, "As you can imagine, buildings built in the 70s were not sustainable." Fuller said the renovation includes "geothermal energy, sustainable classrooms, accessible classrooms, and modernizing those facilities in significant ways."

The school's website says, "The restoration project will address critical repairs to the existing building envelope and original mechanical, electrical, and life safety systems that have reached the end of their useful lifecycle."

Get our free mobile app

Rhode Island PBS reported that the UMass Dartmouth campus faces more significant problems. "The campuses' wide staircases, tiered classrooms, and multilevel atriums fail to meet modern standards of handicapped accessibility," according to the station.

Despite several upgrades, the report says there is a "growing backlog of overdue repairs and upgrades with a staggering price." Rhode Island PBS reported a consultant estimates UMass Dartmouth "has close to $600 million in deferred maintenance needs."

SHNS reported the Healey administration is seeking legislative approval "to leverage the new income surtax to invest $2.5 billion into replacing and repairing buildings on the state's 29 public colleges and universities."

Healey told committee members her plan would create construction jobs for the state while keeping tuition down for future students.

Healey said her so-called BRIGHT Act (An Act to Build Resilient Infrastructure to Generate Higher Education Transformation) is the largest proposed infrastructure investment in the Commonwealth's higher education system in decades.