University Park at MIT is a mixed-use collective of residences, offices and retail settled within Cambridge, Massachusetts. Forest City formed a partnership with Massachusetts Institute of Technology beginning in 1983, utilizing 30 acres adjacent to the campus to create a unique market in the bustling, student-centered city. The buildings created were a direct response to Cambridge itself, sparking a new conversation and defining a distinctive sense of place. Forest City was inspired by MIT as a whole, which was quickly emerging as an incubator for big, innovative ideas in the life sciences space. Cambridge remains one of the most complex urban environments in America in which to gain zoning permits—Forest City found the challenge to be worthwhile.

Construction of the project’s first building involved utilizing what was already there—taking an existing warehouse down to its bare bones and renovating it through the lens of life sciences students. A state-of-the-art HVAC system was just one of many top priorities. After also improving the surrounding streetscape, Forest City launched into the next project phase: developing 8 acres of land into a thoughtful public park space. This was considered a daring move—pouring capital into greenspace with no buildings to lease—but it was of utmost importance for Forest City to create something that could be utilized by all the citizens of Cambridge. Adding a hotel and supermarket to the area were other memorable next steps, creating further public-use spaces within University Park.

Throughout the University Park project, Forest City and MIT mutually invested in the needs of one another, and took pride in their bespoke relationship. Thanks to a resourceful master plan by Cotter Kim, perceptive architecture by Elkus Manfredi and landscape architecture by Halvorson Design, University Park went on to be honored with a multitude of awards. Not only was the project successful at the time of completion, it has improved with age. Forest City took the time to invest in the community, and in turn, the community invested in University Park.