Five new homes added to on-campus faculty housing
In July 2009, after eight months of collaboration and construction, Interlochen President, Jeffrey Kimpton; Board of Trustees Chair, Steve Hayden and members of the Mary Mae Foundation officially unveiled the Mary Mae Village on the Interlochen campus.
“We are extraordinarily grateful for the Mary Mae Foundation and these beautiful homes,” said Kimpton. “They have already proven to be a tremendous blessing for our organization.”
The project’s completion marked a significant milestone for the Mary Mae Foundation as well. The private, charitable granting foundation has laid out an ambitious plan to construct five new homes on twenty campuses around the country. The goal of the plan is to help high-achieving secondary schools attract, reward and retain teachers by providing comfortable and quality houses for faculty and staff. Interlochen was chosen as the first recipient.
Built from a design by the award-winning architect Marianne Cusato, the homes are energy efficient and offer comfortable living on a relatively small footprint of 1053 square feet. Except for the basement concrete work, kitchen cabinets and HVAC, the homes were constructed entirely by skilled tradesmen who work in Interlochen’s Maintenance department.
“The storage space is amazing.” said Lesley Tye, instructor of creative writing and motion picture arts at Interlochen and a new resident in one of the homes. The convenience of living near campus has been a highlight for her. “I can attend and support more student events,” she said. “And it’s so nice to have an open space to host receptions with colleagues after events.”
The homes are proving to benefit more than just their residents. During Camp 2009, Tye offered to share her home with a member of the summer faculty for creative writing. “The house is so well designed and thought out that we always seemed to have plenty of room,” Tye said.
