In an effort to centralize its Lowell campus and solidify UMASS Lowell's presence downtown, the university is redeveloping the former McQuade Mills building to house its Graduate School of Education (GSOE).

HMFH's transformation of the five-story textile mill into a new home for the GSOE will reconnect the program and its on-site demonstration school with the rest of the university. The graduate school will occupy the upper floors and contain classrooms, administrative offices, TV studios, teaching and computer labs, a flexible auditorium, and student gathering spaces, and will include many areas wired to support distance learning. The lower two floors will be designed for a K-4 elementary school run by the graduate school in conjunction with the City of Lowell's public school program.

Both the building and site design require careful integration of shared uses, including a central lobby serving both kindergartners and graduate school students.