WPI, Worcester Agree To PILOT
Livia Gershon
WPI President and CEO Dennis D. Berkey announces the new PILOT program as City Councilors Gary Rosen (left) and Philip P. Palmieri look on.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute will pay the City of Worcester $9 million over the next 25 years under a voluntary "payment in lieu of taxes" agreement announced this afternoon at the Worcester Public Library.
The money, starting with $270,000 this year, will go directly to the library and Institute Park, a public park located near the university. The first payment will promote improvements at the park and allow the city to restore Wednesday and Sunday hours at the library, according to City Manager Michael O'Brien.
WPI President and CEO Dennis D. Berkey said funding the park and library is an extension of its work as a community-minded educational institution.
"The notion of lifelong learning is so central to our mission at WPI," he said.
WPI is the second city institution to agree to a PILOT. The Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences announced in November that it would pay between $1.25 million and $1.5 million to the library over 25 years.
WPI took pains to avoid setting the new agreement up as a precedent for other colleges and nonprofits in the city. In a statement released at the announcement, Berkey said that the college "does not intend for the agreement to serve as a model" for others. But after the event, City Councilor Philip P. Palmieri, who has pushed for PILOT agreements as the chair of the city's economic development committee, promised "others to follow."
The PILOT payment will increase by 2.5 percent each year, averaging $360,000 over the life of the agreement. The agreement also formalizes a college policy of paying some taxes on properties that qualify for tax exemption. That accounts for $180,000 this year.
Read a related article on Worcester PILOT funds: Colleges Try To Make Nice With Worcester.
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