Dear Members of the UMass Boston Community,
We are writing to provide a campus-wide update on the East Residence Hall and the significant work underway to restore safe operations and to support our impacted students following this week’s flooding incident.
First, thank you to our entire community for your continued support, patience, and cooperation. Over the last two days, over 600 residents returned to their rooms to retrieve essential items, mail, and packages, and to assess impacts to their spaces. We recognize that for many students these visits were emotional and difficult. We appreciate the care, respect, and resilience our residential students have demonstrated throughout this process.
Update on Building Assessment & Remediation
Remediation of the damage in the East Residence Hall from Monday’s pipe burst is progressing. Yesterday, additional rounds of building systems testing were conducted in coordination with the property operator, Capstone On-Campus Management (COCM), and city and state inspectors. Fire suppression has been restored throughout the building, the emergency generators were successfully tested, and electrical systems performed well in testing, meeting the next layer of milestones required by safety inspectors. While progress has continued, there still is additional work to be completed before students can return to the residence halls.
This work includes:
- Completion of an emergency egress plan during construction
- An electrical engineer affidavit on the repair work that has been completed on the electrical system
- Remediation and restoration of the central stairwell and many water-damaged corridor areas, which are necessary for building egress and compliance with fire safety code standards
- Once this work is finished, final inspections will be completed to approve a phased re-occupancy of the building. We are still working with COCM to finalize a timeline and will share confirmed details as soon as they are available
Rooms with Flood Damage
After continued assessment, approximately 50 rooms have been identified with significant flood damage. In coordination with COCM and remediation teams, students in these impacted rooms are being asked to fully move out and remove their belongings so that repairs can commence, including removal of damaged drywall, flooring, and ceiling materials. Staff are on site to assist during this process.
Students in impacted rooms will be relocated to alternative housing for a longer duration while repairs are completed. We are actively working to secure additional longer-term housing options and expect to share additional details within the coming days. At this time, the timeline for the full restoration timeline for these rooms is being developed and updates will be communicated as soon as they are available.
Ongoing Support Efforts
Since the onset of the incident, multiple cross-disciplinary teams across Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, Facilities, Housing, Dining, Transportation, Finance, Counseling Services, and Communications have been working continuously to stabilize conditions and restore normal operations as safely and responsibly as possible.
These coordinated efforts include:
- Alternative housing arrangement
- Transportation support
- Supervised room access for essential belongings
- Dining continuity
- Distribution of essential items
- Academic coordination and faculty outreach
- Activation of Emergency Fund grants
- Financial impact review
This work has been occurring around the clock, and we are grateful to all the faculty, staff and students who have provided countless hours and acts of kindness to support our impacted students.
What can I do today to help?
- Clothing drive for impacted residents
- Donate pants, socks, shirts, sweaters, or sweatshirts. Bring donations to 1st floor East Residence Hall.
- U-ACCESS
- Support U-ACCESS by donating essential hygiene and food items. Bring donations to 1st floor East Residence Hall.
- Emergency fund
Moving Forward
The pace of this response continues to be guided by the completion of the necessary repairs and the codified mechanisms that enable safe return to the building, including inspection requirements, and code compliance. While the disruption has been significant, the work being done is necessary to ensure that when students return, the building is fully safe and operational.
We will continue to provide regular updates to the campus community as progress continues, but please know that many teams are dedicated to this recovery effort and are working continuously to make progress and support our impacted students.
For on-going updates and a complete list of communications shared with students and the community please visit www.umb.edu/reshallsupport.
Karen Ferrer-Muñiz, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
Kathleen Kirleis, Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance
