Deerfield Academy Builds Arts, Music Spaces With $15 Million MassDevelopment Bond

May 07, 2013

Contacts:
Kelsey Abbruzzese, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2086 & 617-448-9077 (cell)
kabbruzzese@massdevelopment.com
David Thiel, Deerfield Academy, 413-774-1878
dthiel@deerfield.edu

MassDevelopment has issued a $15 million tax-exempt bond on behalf of the Trustees of Deerfield Academy, which serves 630 high school students from around the world. Deerfield will use bond proceeds to build two additions, totaling 15,000 square feet, to the Center for the Arts building. The additions will house an art gallery, class space, a chamber hall, and other support space. Deerfield Academy will also renovate the 63,000-square-foot Center with new art studios, a dance studio, music practice rooms, offices, auditorium improvements, and other upgrades. First Republic Bank purchased the bond.

“Arts and music are critical components of the world-class education that Deerfield Academy offers,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Marty Jones. “MassDevelopment applauds the school for its cultural commitment and is pleased to leverage this low-cost financing to expand the presence of the arts on campus.”

Founded in 1797, Deerfield Academy is an independent boarding and day school for ninth through 12th grades and a postgraduate year. Set in a historic village in the Connecticut River Valley, Deerfield prepares students for leadership in a rapidly changing world that requires global understanding, environmental stewardship, and dedication to service.

MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2012, MassDevelopment financed or managed 280 projects generating investment of more than $2.3 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are projected to create more than 12,000 jobs and build or rehabilitate 900 residential units.