A campus evolves

From Dreamscape
to Landscape

Between fiscal years 2008 and 2012, the University invested more than $772 million in campus improvements. Where did the money go? To many good things—some in plain sight, some unseen, and some that will be seen in the very near future.

Explore Our Evolving Campus

Map by Ed Weiderer · Photos by BU Photography

Choose a Campus
Comments Instructions
Location
Three-acre block surrounded by Babcock, Ashford, Gardner, and Alcorn Streets
Description
Athletic field will be built above ground-level parking, with a pocket park flanking the field’s western side. Parking for 340 vehicles.
Cost
$25.8Million
Project Timeline
May 2012
Groundbreaking
Summer 2013
Expected Completion
As of Fall 2012
Location
285 Babcock Street
Description
Ice-making equipment, the ice floor, dasher boards, and glass replaced with a modern, energy-efficient system. Dehumidification, improved ventilation, and new lighting systems are estimated to reduce annual electricity use by 1.6 million kilowatt hours, save $208,000 per year, and qualify for up to $199,000 of NSTAR incentive rebates.
Cost
$2.8Million
Project Timeline
February 2010
Started
August 2011
Completed
Location
273–277 Babcock Street
Description
Project renovated Claflin, Sleeper, and Rich Halls. The results have improved the living environment of more than 1,800 students and are part of an ongoing program to renovate nearly 3,600 bed spaces in West Campus, Warren Towers, and the Bay State Road Towers complexes.
Cost
$20.4Million
Project Timeline
Summer 2010
Started
Summer 2012
Completed

Watch this video on YouTube
Taking a Tour through StuVi II
by Alan Wong
Kevin O’Connor (GSM’99), host of the WGBH show This Old House, gets a closer look at Student Village II while it was under construction. The high-rise student residence opened in fall 2009.
Location
33 Harry Agganis Way
Description
The 26- and 19-story towers known as StuVi II comprise the second of three dormitory projects on the Student Village site, adjacent to the Fitness & Recreation Center and Agganis Arena. The towers house 960 juniors and seniors in a mixture of apartment-style and suite-style accommodations.
Cost
$151Million
Project Timeline
Summer 2007
Groundbreaking
Fall 2009
Completed
Location
775 Commonwealth Avenue
Description
The Union Court at the George Sherman Union, last renovated in 1993, was updated with new floor and wall coverings, tables and chairs, and a projection video system in the Back Court. The renovations to the dining area include expanded systems for recycling compostable items (food waste as well as compostable plates and flatware), single-stream recycling (bottles, cans, and plastic), and trash. The Green Restaurant Association certified the Union Court as a Certified Green Restaurant®, the only food court in the United States so certified.
Cost
$2.4Million
Project Timeline
May 2010
Started
August 2010
Completed
Location
765 Commonwealth Avenue and the plaza next to Mugar Memorial Library
Description
Construction of new classrooms, library, and student community space west of the 50-year-old LAW tower, followed by renovation of the tower. The project will increase the school’s square footage from 127,777 to 161,487 and provide 19 new state-of-the-art classrooms.
Cost
$171.9Million
Project Timeline
Summer 2012 to spring 2013
Enabling Work
May 2013 to July 2014
West Addition
As of Fall 2012
Location
College of Arts & Sciences, Metropolitan College, School of Theology
Description
Project replaces 1,003 windows with new energy-efficient windows in some of the University’s most iconic buildings over five years.
Cost
$9Million
Project Timeline
June 2008
Started
Fall 2013
Expected Completion
As of Fall 2012
Location
233 Bay State Road
Description
Renovation of the former Hillel House includes an addition of 2,500 square feet.
Cost
$13Million
Project Timeline
Summer 2012
Started
Summer 2013
Expected Completion
As of Fall 2012
Location
Blandford, Hinsdale, and Cummington Malls
Description
Boston University purchased the three streets from the city of Boston as part of a long-range plan to make the area a stronger research and teaching hub on the Charles River Campus and make it more pedestrian-friendly. Plans for the area will evolve in the coming years.
Cost
$$11.45 Million
Project Timeline
July 2012
Street Closings
Several years
Expected Completion
As of Fall 2012
Location
590 Commonwealth Avenue
Description
Renovations on the third and fourth floors transformed 8,512 square feet into three instructional labs (with space for a total of 60 students).
Cost
$$5.2 Million
Project Timeline
May 2011
Started
September 2011
Completed
Location
590 Commonwealth Avenue
Description
Four laboratory modules in the Metcalf Center for Science & Engineering renovated. Project supports research efforts at the BU Center for Molecular Discovery and the Center for Chemical Methodology & Library Development.
Cost
$$7.2 Million
Project Timeline
January 2012
Started
September 2012
Completed
Center for Student Services Opens
by Joe Chan
The three short videos explain different aspects of the six-story center. Student Services provides a floor-by-floor description of spaces and services; Dining looks at places to enjoy a variety of food; and Design spells out how and why different spaces were created for specific activities.
Location
100 Bay State Road, at Deerfield Street
Description
The new six-story building houses the Center for Career Development and the Educational Resource Center as well as the Writing Program and first- and second-year advising services for the College of Arts & Sciences. Modern dining facilities replace three outdated ones at the Shelton, Myles Standish, and Towers residence halls.
Cost
$65Million
Project Timeline
January 2011
Groundbreaking
July 2012
Completed

Watch this video on YouTube
MED Student Residence Has It All
by Robin Berghaus
Take a tour of 815 Albany Street, BU's first on-campus residence for medical students.
Location
815 Albany Street
Description
The nine-story building has 104 two-bedroom apartments for BU’s graduate medical school population, as well as first-floor retail space. Median rents in the neighborhood now range from $1,400 to $2,000 for a one-bedroom and $2,000 to $2,700 for a two-bedroom apartment. MED donor-supported financial aid will reduce market rents to a more affordable $850 per month and at the same time foster a sense of community among MED students.
Cost
$$32.8 Million
Project Timeline
Fall 2010
Groundbreaking
August 2012
Completed
Location
620 Albany Street
Description
The NEIDL is a 192,000-square-foot, seven-story building, where researchers hope to develop diagnostic tests, vaccines, and new drugs for some of the world’s most infectious or deadly diseases. The site is designed in accordance with the most stringent and protective measures defined in the National Institutes of Health guidelines.
Cost
$200Million
Project Timeline
March 2006
Groundbreaking
Fall 2008
Completed