UMass Modular Student Housing

Building a Modern Community: How We Constructed University Village at UMass Amherst

As a leading modular manufacturer, we’re proud to have played a pivotal role in delivering University Village, a state-of-the-art student family housing complex at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Completed as part of a broader initiative to address the campus’s growing housing needs, this project exemplifies how modular construction can provide fast, efficient, and high-quality solutions for modern student living. Here’s a closer look at the details of this exciting project and how our expertise brought it to life.

Project Overview: A New Home for UMass Families

University Village, located at 990 North Pleasant Street on the site of the former North Village Apartments, is a designed community tailored to UMass Amherst students with dependents. The complex consists of 150 two-bedroom townhomes, offering approximately 1,100 square feet of living space per unit. This low-density neighborhood replaces outdated housing from the 1970s with a vibrant, supportive environment for undergraduate and graduate students and their families.

The project was executed in phases, with the first 50 units and a multipurpose community center completed in August 2022, welcoming its first residents that fall. An additional 20 units came online shortly after, with the remaining 80 units finalized by spring 2023. This staged approach ensured minimal disruption and a steady rollout of much-needed housing in a tight local market.

Modular Innovation: Scale, Speed, and Sustainability

Our role as the modular manufacturer was to fabricate, deliver and install the modules with enough time for the Suffolk Construction to finish prior to Summer of 2023.

Scale: Each townhome was constructed using two volumetric modules, totaling 315 modules across the project’s 169,384 square feet. These modules were built off-site in Signature Building System’s advanced manufacturing facility, allowing us to maintain strict quality control, reduce on-site construction time, and minimize environmental impact.

Speed: By leveraging modular construction, we completed the fabrication and installation of all 150 units in under 12 months—a timeline that outpaces traditional construction by as much as 60%. This speed was critical to meeting UMass’s target completion dates and ensuring students had access to housing by the 2023 academic year.

Sustainability Benefits: Built to LEED Silver and MA energy stretch code standards to ensure low energy consumptio and small carbon footprint. Off-site construction reduced waste, noise, and disruption on campus, while the modular process allowed for precise material use and energy-efficient design, aligning with UMass’s commitment to sustainability.

A Collaborative Effort

University Village was a true team effort. We partnered with the developer, Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions and Suffolk Construction, the construction manager, to bring the vision to life. DiMella Shaffer served as the architect, designing a community that blends functionality with a welcoming aesthetic—complete with green spaces, playgrounds, a playing field, and pedestrian walkways. UMass Amherst now owns and operates the complex, ensuring it meets the long-term needs of its student population.

Design Details

The standard townhomes are vertically stacked, featuring a fully equipped kitchen (stove, range, refrigerator, dishwasher, and microwave), dining room, living room, and utility room with in-unit washer and dryer on the first floor. The second level includes two bedrooms and a full bathroom. For accessibility, ADA-compliant units were designed as single-story ranch-style homes with the same amenities tailored to universal design standards.

Meeting Diverse Needs

What sets University Village apart is its focus on a diverse renter profile: single parents, married couples, teaching assistants, and students with one or two children. Unlike traditional dormitories, this community was designed as a neighborhood, offering parking close to units, a shared community center for events, and outdoor spaces for families to thrive. Security cameras and campus wireless internet further enhance the living experience, providing peace of mind and connectivity for residents.

Why Modular Matters

The success of University Village underscores why modular construction is a game-changer for student housing. Colleges and universities across the country face growing demand for affordable, modern accommodation, particularly in high-cost areas like Amherst. Our ability to deliver consistent unit sizes, rapid construction timelines, and customizable designs makes modular an ideal fit for projects like this.