To the Campus Community,
As we look toward returning to the campus this fall, I want to update you on what to expect when you return.
Over the past year, the Substructure, Science Center, Pool Building and Plaza Demolition and Quadrangle Development (SDQD) project has made substantial progress in the process of physically transforming the heart of the campus from a barren concrete plaza into a future green, landscaped quadrangle that will provide gathering spaces and new pedestrian pathways among buildings when it is completed in 2022.
Demolition of the old Science Center required removal of a substantial portion of the catwalks that connected our buildings. The catwalks had become somewhat iconic of our campus, where one could walk from one end of campus to the other without going out of doors. While catwalks continue to connect the Integrated Sciences Complex and Quinn Administration Building, Quinn and the Healey Library, and Wheatley Hall and the Campus Center, navigation among other buildings will be at plaza, or quad, level via a recently constructed accessible, secure pathway with new wayfinding signage.
The necessity for catwalks will change with the completion of the SDQD project. The new quad will provide new and quicker walking routes for many. Access to the campus from the West Garage will be made much easier with the opened-up landscaped path between Quinn and the Clark Athletic Center and from the new surface parking lot at the Beacon’s Walk end of the quad to the center of campus. These walking enhancements will allow students, faculty, staff, and visitors direct access to campus buildings without needing to travel through other buildings.
Reconstruction of the removed catwalks was in the original budget for the SDQD project but needed to be removed to keep the project on budget. The university is, however, continuing to examine the possibilities of reviving the project to restore all the catwalks. This project will be evaluated as part of the upcoming capital master planning process, and early estimates tell us that the catwalks could cost in the range of $17 to $19 million.
If the university is able to secure funding for the project, construction would not commence until after the SDQD project and new quad are completed in 2022. During that time, we expect that students, faculty, staff, and visitors will find new pedestrian routes across the quad to their destination, and enjoy the green open spaces along their route.
I hope that you will share my excitement in anticipation of a new pedestrian environment and experience on campus, with fully accessible paths, grass, trees, lighting, and really comfortable places to hang out.
