When many alums think of BU’s most cherished buildings, the Castle is near the top of the list. The distinctive mansion at Bay State Road and Granby Street marked its 100th anniversary last year.

For almost three decades, the Castle was the home of BU’s presidents. Marriages, Scarlet Key ceremonies, and bar mitzvahs have been celebrated in its spacious rooms, and at least three Hollywood movies were filmed in the building, which blends Tudor, Georgian Revival, and Classical Revival architecture. In the Pub, popular with students, staff, and faculty alike, students have forged friendships, conquered courses, and laid out life plans.

Today, the Castle is well on its way to becoming the Alumni Center for BU’s 300,000-plus graduates. The cost of the conversion is estimated at $7.6 million, with $5 million of that amount projected to come from philanthropic support. Several major gifts have already been received, among them $1 million from trustee Sid Feltenstein (COM’62).

Wayne J. Positan (CAS’70), president of the Boston University Alumni Association, says the need for such a center is clear. “We have always lacked a central place on campus for alumni to gather, whether it’s for a scheduled meeting or simply to hang out for a few hours,” he says. “We’ll have a home on campus, and I think that’s terrific.”

Converting the Castle into an alumni center is not a new idea. Shortly after his arrival at BU, President Robert A. Brown noted the relative dearth of facilities designed for alumni activities and wondered if the storied mansion might be used for that. “Now,” says Brown, “thanks to trustee Sid Feltenstein and many other generous donors, it’s finally coming together.”

“I am pleased that the University is making this commitment to its alumni, who every year are becoming more important to BU,” says Feltenstein, a pioneer in the restaurant and franchising industries. “And at the same time, I’m proud that the alumni are helping to make it possible.” His gift will be recognized through the renaming of the Castle’s first floor in honor of his family.

Steve Hall, vice president for alumni relations, says many aspects won’t change dramatically. The exterior will be cleaned, the ground-floor spaces restored, and the Pub upgraded, with a commercial kitchen and new indoor and outdoor seating areas.

But some of the work will present a challenge for Finegold Alexander Architects, the firm chosen for the project, Hall says. The entire building must be made accessible to the disabled, and all of the mechanical systems need to be replaced. The upper floors will be transformed to provide meeting spaces and other resources for alums. A major new element will be lunchtime dining for alumni, faculty, and staff.

“We’re going to save what’s great about the Castle and fix what needs fixing,” Hall says. “We’re going to make a wonderful old building more useful and appealing to our alumni, and to the entire BU community.”

Related story—BU’s Castle Turns 100: Future Alumni Center home boasts a century of romance, history