Boston University officials took the next step toward building a new Life Science and Engineering facility at 24 Cummington St. this month, releasing a Draft Project Impact Report that describes the project in detail.
The new building, which was made possible in part to a large grant, will house research facilities in biology, chemistry and biomedical engineering. The project is currently being reviewed by city agencies for approval.
The building will take the place of the vacant Nickelodeon Theater. Demolition of the existing structure could start as soon as this spring, according to BU spokesman Colin Riley.
Thirteen stories are included in the building plan, including a basement level and a two-level ‘mechanical penthouse’ with the building’s electrical and ventilation systems, according to the DPIR. Cannon Design, Inc. of Boston will design the project.
The facility will create about 20 new faculty researcher positions, according to Riley, as well as research labs for 26 existing faculty.
The departments involved in the building have seen four-fold expansion over the past decade, according to the DPIR. The university expects that ‘$35 million in grant activity, supported by the project, will be received within two years of completion of the project,’ according to the DPIR.
According to Executive Vice President Joe Mercurio, the building will only increase the university’s reputable science and engineering programs.
‘We are on track to develop in certain specialized areas of excellence,’ Mercurio said. ‘Moving forward with that building had to do with the College of Engineering and Science Department’s expanding research and graduate student base.’
Although graduates are the focus of the building’s programs, the facility will also develop opportunities for undergraduates, according to BU officials. A developing field of bioinformatics, linking research techniques in biological sciences with computational methods, will also be placed in the building.
While BU does not expect an increase in graduate students as a result of the project, they expect a significant increase in the quality of education for the graduates, according to the DPIR.
Riley said he believes the quality is not limited to students.
‘Indirectly, it will have a great impact on the quality of life that we all like through things that will help people live better lives,’ Riley said.
In August, the Whitaker Foundation awarded the university $14 million, the largest single grant that BU has received from any foundation, as well as being the largest gift the foundation has given, according to Matt Barber, director of the Biomedical Engineering Program. The grant, called the Leadership Award, will provide funding to enhance existing graduate programs in developing the building as well as the support for 33 graduate students in the form of scholarships, Barber said.
‘When we proposed the whole program to them, we said, ‘If you give us this much money, [the building and the academic programs] is what you will get back,” Barber said. ‘They evaluated our program and recognized us as one of the leaders.’
After receiving the award, BU in turn gave the project $18 million for development.
The university hopes to continue funding of the building and the programs located there through other grants acknowledging BU’s science departments, Riley said.
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