Babson may open satellite campus in Seaport district

Babson looks to Seaport
Entrepreneurs’ biz school may land a berth in Hub
By Thomas Grillo | Friday, November 5, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
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Babson College, the top-ranked business school for educating entrepreneurs, is in talks to open a satellite campus in Boston’s Seaport District, according to two sources familiar with the negotiations.

The expansion would give Babson, which has 3,400 students and a 370-acre Wellesley campus, a strong foothold in the new Innovation District that Mayor Thomas M. Menino is carving out of the South Boston waterfront area now known as the Seaport District.

“It makes sense for Babson to be in the vibrant Seaport District, closer to Boston’s business center,” said an administrator from a competing business school, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “The school’s strength is entrepreneurial education, and they’re good at it - they are consistently named No. 1 in entrepreneurship by U.S. News & World Report. But it’s difficult to get potential MBA candidates who work downtown to drive all the way to Wellesley to attend night classes.”

In addition to its Wellesley home, Babson operates a two-year, part-time MBA program in San Francisco.

Michael Chmura, a Babson spokesman, would neither confirm nor deny whether his school was on the hunt for the space.

Menino has said his administration is in talks to lure a school to the 1,000-acre parcel adjacent to Marine Industrial Park, but the mayor has declined to provide specifics.

In January, Menino shelved plans to move City Hall to city-owned land on Boston Harbor.

In his inaugural address, the mayor turned his attention to the Marine Industrial Park in South Boston, where he said he’d like to see an Innovation District that would attract “knowledge workers and creative jobs in green, biotech and health care, Web development and other industries.”

Since then, a number of companies have leased space there, including Artaic, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Next Step Living and Ginkgo BioWorks

Joseph Sciolla, managing principal at Cresa Partners, a commercial real estate brokerage, said it would be a great idea if Babson made a commitment to the Innovation District.

“Anything that generates jobs, excitement and is business-oriented is good for that area,” he said.
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