Construction projects totaling more than $300 million at Boston University are transforming the university’s landscape and will reshape the way students live in the very near future, according to BU spokesman Colin Riley.
Framework for the Harry Agganis Arena and new student fitness center at the John Hancock Student Village on the 900 block of Commonwealth Avenue will soon be completed.
The targeted date for the arena’s completion is January 2005, and the student fitness center attached to it should be completed in the spring of the same year, Riley said. Both parts are on time and on budget, he said.
The Student Village has received about $51 million in donations in its ongoing fundraising process, according to Mike Lynch, assistant vice president of development for athletics and student life.
More than 600 individuals have donated money to the project, with the majority of donations ranging from $50,000 to $2 million, Lynch said. The major sponsor, the John Hancock Company, pledged $20 million for the complex that will bear its name.
All 29 loge-style suites in the new arena have been reserved and the sale of premium seats will begin this fall, according to Lynch.
‘To complete our campus we needed to do something like [the Student Village],’ Lynch said. ‘Everyone agrees the university needs something like this.’
Lynch said it would lead to a better social life for all BU students and allow students and faculty to interact more. The new Harry Agganis Arena will replace the Walter Brown Arena on West Campus and will house both the hockey and basketball teams.
Currently, the major steel framework has been completed, with the installation of ventilation and plumbing systems progressing rapidly, along with concrete pouring and construction of the outer façade.
BU is also building up its stock of educational facilities as the university began work on the Life Sciences and Engineering Building at 24 Cummington St. last year. The building will replace the old Nickelodeon Theater and will be completed in the spring of 2005, Riley said.
The Life Sciences and Engineering building will have numerous labs for research that may be used as general classrooms although the building will primarily be a research facility. The building will be a huge plus for recruiting and retaining faculty, Riley said.
The concrete foundation has been laid at the site with steel framework underway. They are currently on the second level of steel erection.
New graduate student housing at 580 Commonwealth Ave. will include a public café on the first floor, Riley said. The building will be completed by Labor Day of next year and is also on budget and on time, Riley said.
The concrete foundation has been laid, and the second level of framework should start today.
However, the university is constructing buildings not only for student use, but also for the general public. The Hotel Commonwealth, located at 500 Commonwealth Ave. in Kenmore Square, recently opened for business amidst some controversy over the building’s exterior appearance.
BU is a limited partner in the hotel that currently houses not only guests but also an overflow of freshmen. It houses 94 freshmen, Riley said, while 84 freshmen are living in the Holiday Inn in Brookline.
The Hotel Commonwealth and BU are inextricably linked, with Boston area universities and hospitals serving as the hotel’s ‘primary business generators,’ said Timothy Kirwan, the hotel’s managing director.
‘BU is going to be a key player in utilizing the hotel for years,’ Kirwan said.