University Unveils Stokes Plan

After years of planning, Boston College is on the verge of launching headfirst into the initial building phase of its Institutional Master Plan (IMP).

The final plans for the 180,000-square foot Stokes Academic Building will be presented before the University's Board of Trustees at a Sept. 24 meeting, when the board will likely give its final approval for the plans, according to University administrators.

The board's vote is the final hurdle that the University must clear before work on the building can begin. Last Friday, BC officials met to determine which bid to award the Stokes contract to, however the University would not disclose the estimated construction costs or the name of the contractor until the project receives board approval.

"Now is the real beginning of the Master Plan," said Executive Vice President Patrick Keating. He said that the Stokes Academic Building would not officially be christened until the board approves the final plans and the bid.

At the Sept. 24 meeting, trustees will also vote on renovation projects at 129 Lake Street and at 2121 Commonwealth Avenue, both located on the Brighton Campus.

The former will house the University's Finance and Human Resources Divisions upon its completion. The latter will be the future home of the University Advancement Division – both currently located in More Hall.

"Those two pieces clear the way for the next big project, which is the residence hall at More Hall," Keating said. "That's the beginning of the domino for the Brighton Campus and Lower Campus."

The renovation of the 129 Lake Street property will likely begin this fall, followed by construction at the 2121 Commonwealth Avenue facility that is projected to begin in early 2011.

Both projects have been approved by the Boston Redevelopment Authority and are scheduled to take one year to complete.

"We're at the cusp," Keating said. "Today we're ready to quit talking about planning and start talking about doing."

Once started, construction on Stokes should take approximately two years, according to Keating. He said progress will largely be dictated by the weather conditions for this coming winter, when much of the excavation, utility and foundation work will be underway.

Pending the plan's approval, University officials will begin planning logistics such as how parking and foot traffic around the Dustbowl will be affected by the influx of construction workers and equipment.

While the exact dimensions of the site are still to be determined, Keating cautioned that the amount of open space will be greatly reduced for the duration of the construction.

"One of the impacts that will be noticed is the size of the fence," Keating said. "The campus green is going to be greatly reduced during the time of construction."

Throughout the duration of the construction, Keating said that he hopes to have a live video feed showing the building's progress on the BC Web page, in addition to weekly construction updates that will be posted online.

While he is not aware of any complaints or issues that have been raised by students or faculty thus far, Keating said that the University will continue to work with the contractor to ensure that noise levels are kept under control and security is not overlooked.

"There will be ground rules for the workers," Keating said, adding that there will be a training session about how they're expected to interact with the community.

In order to inform students – particularly those living in the vicinity of the construction site – of any safety issues surrounding the project, BC officials will do a "fair amount of education with students on Upper Campus," Keating said.

"We'll have to talk to the RAs and have some training sessions."

Recently-appointed Director of Public Safety John King said that the BC does not yet have a plan for security around the construction site, but that a plan will be explored in the coming weeks.

The University estimates that hundreds of jobs will be created during the construction of the Stokes Academic Building, said University Spokesman Jack Dunn.

The Stokes construction project will be a union labor job, with the contractor handling all hiring, Keating said.

Plans call for Stokes to include 36 classrooms, with capacities ranging from 20 seats to 88 seats.

Additionally, the building will house the offices of the history, philosophy, theology, English, the College of Arts and Sciences' Honors, and classical studies departments, as well as the College of Arts and Sciences' administrative service center.

Keating said that the Stokes Academic Building, in addition to the renovation projects of 129 Lake Street and 2121 Commonwealth Avenue, will be completely financed by a combination of fundraising and debt, and that the projects will not feed off tuition dollars.

"We've had fundraising success [and] we expect to continue fundraising for this and other projects," Keating said.

He singled out the generous contributions of the family of former University Trustee Patrick T. Stokes, BC '64, in assisting with the fundraising effort. n

News Editor Michael Caprio contributed to this report.