Boston College Master Plan

The mods were low rent when they were 'built' and they are low rent now. BC aspires to be included among the top colleges yet continues to make some poor decisions regarding campus development, something, by the way, that is one of the 'top priorities' in its 'grand scheme'. What do they not get about it? The resources are there...
 
BC just acquired 23 acres of land across the street from the Newton campus where Mt. Alvernia High School used to be. This increases the size of the Newton campus by over 50%.

Boston College has purchased the 23-acre Mount Alvernia High School campus and convent property at 790 Centre Street in Newton from the Missionary Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception.

The Franciscan Sisters made the decision to close the school and sell the property due to enrollment and financial challenges at Mount Alvernia High School. They reached out to Boston College, with which they have maintained close ties for more than 85 years, with the goal of keeping the property in the hands of a Catholic educational institution. The sale was completed on October 3.

University Spokesman Jack Dunn said Boston College intends to use the property for educational and administrative purposes.

The parcel contains three buildings and a garage comprising 73,850 gross square feet, and is located directly across Centre Street from the Newton Campus.
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https://www.bc.edu/content/bc-web/s...college-acquires-mount-alvernia-property.html
 
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BC has really amassed the collection of properties in Newton and Brookline in recent years. Will be interesting to see how they use them for their expansion. I wonder if they will move some of their other Graduate Schools to remote campuses like Social Work and Theology/Ministry like they did with the Law School when they got the Newton Campus.
 
Long time no news. Anyone have pictures of the new basketball facility to share?
 
Any truth to the report that BC is planning to remodel the outside of McElroy and Carney to better fit in with the Gothic aesthetic of the quad they are on? I believe I read about it in the student newspaper, The Heights.
 
Yes, the Heights article mentioned the plan to update the facades to the cobblestone and green roof aesthetic.
 
If true, so much for my hopes that both those eyesores be taken down and replaced with something along the lines of Stokes. Some years ago I was informed by someone high up in the capital projects office that Carney would be replaced by a very nice dining hall in the gothic tradition, sporting cathedral ceilings. I guess that is off the table...
 
They were discussing demolishing McElroy at least 15 years ago.
 
The current president is stepping down next summer. I suspect most new or major development decisions will be delayed until the new one is in place.
 
Hopefully they go bold with whatever design is chosen. If a school absolutely insists on the “retro” collegiate gothic look, there’s a few examples out there recently that really pulled it off well — Yale, Vanderbilt, University of Richmond, University of Florida.

I do like Stokes Hall, though.
 
The current capital campaign's goal is to raise $3 billion, and does not highlight new buildings. New buildings offer naming opportunities for generous donors.

The campaign goals are lofty and rather nebulous, but seem directed at increasing the size of the endowment to support increased financial aid and faculty resources / compensation. Capital construction is not part of the endowment.
 
The new president will be a Jesuit, and O'Neill Library will be reskinned in collegiate gothic before anything this board considers "bold" will happen on the main campus.
 
stellarfun said:
The current capital campaign's goal is to raise $3 billion, and does not highlight new buildings. New buildings offer naming opportunities for generous donors.

The campaign goals are lofty and rather nebulous, but seem directed at increasing the size of the endowment to support increased financial aid and faculty resources / compensation. Capital construction is not part of the endowment.
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Not explicitly identified, but it’s included in the student life initiatives.
Soaring Higher will also generate additional funding for the University’s student life priorities in formative education, campus ministry, service immersion, and intercollegiate and intramural sports, while providing resources for the construction and renovation of campus facilities, including residence halls and space for student activities and wellness programs.
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Doesn’t sound like they need new academic space; Stokes and 245 Beacon seem to have satisfied that need. Dining hall isn’t explicitly identified but of course is a “campus facility.” The replacement of Carney for a new dining hall is still on their current approved IMP, but maybe they changed their minds.

www.bc.edu

Boston College announces $3 billion Soaring Higher campaign

Initiative prioritizes academics, financial aid, and student life
www.bc.edu www.bc.edu
 
Enrico Pallazzo said:
Not explicitly identified, but it’s included in the student life initiatives.


Doesn’t sound like they need new academic space; Stokes and 245 Beacon seem to have satisfied that need. Dining hall isn’t explicitly identified but of course is a “campus facility.” The replacement of Carney for a new dining hall is still on their current approved IMP, but maybe they changed their minds.

www.bc.edu

Boston College announces $3 billion Soaring Higher campaign

Initiative prioritizes academics, financial aid, and student life
www.bc.edu www.bc.edu
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Boston College is opening Messina College this fall. Messina is the former campus of Mount Ida, BC having bought Mount Ida several years ago. The campus is off Heath St. in Brookline. (There is also the Mount Ida campus of UMass Amherst, but that is in Newton.)

https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/messina-college.html

Messina offers a two year program, leading to an associates degree. Messina will be a residential college. See below for descriptions of the two properties BC acquired: the 23 acre high school, and Pine Manor.

https://www.bcheights.com/2023/11/19/expanding-bc-a-look-inside-mount-alvernia-and-brookline-campus/

How much in the way of future new construction / reconstruction / renovation does BC anticipate for these recently acquired properties?
 
stellarfun said:
Boston College is opening Messina College this fall. Messina is the former campus of Mount Ida, BC having bought Mount Ida several years ago. The campus is off Heath St. in Brookline. (There is also the Mount Ida campus of UMass Amherst, but that is in Newton.)

https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/messina-college.html

Messina offers a two year program, leading to an associates degree. Messina will be a residential college. See below for descriptions of the two properties BC acquired: the 23 acre high school, and Pine Manor.

https://www.bcheights.com/2023/11/19/expanding-bc-a-look-inside-mount-alvernia-and-brookline-campus/

How much in the way of future new construction / reconstruction / renovation does BC anticipate for these recently acquired properties?
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That’s the big question, right? When they acquired the archdiocese land, they also started a new religious grad school covering both lay minister and Jesuit training. BC‘s done a whole bunch of stuff to that campus so far and has more things on its current master plan. But none of them (except for religious archive expansion of the library) directly impact the actual academic portion of that school. Classes are held at Simboli, St. Clement’s, 3 Lake street — all of which pre-existed and have had just minor renovations.

In the Messina college case, Pine Manor already had 3 academic buildings plus a library, and dorms to house 200-300 people. And the school is opening in a month. Given their enrollment is 200 students, I doubt they need anything significantly more just to run that operation. If they needed more, they would have done it by now.

Similarly Mt. Alvernia had a big high school building already, which can easily be adapted to classrooms if they want. But no BC programs are currently on that space.

The answer really comes down to: how do they plan to use these properties, or in Brookline’s case, do they want to do anything beyond Messina college? And frankly I think that’s part of the reason for the delayed new IMP — BC told BDPA last summer that the new master plan would be ready by end of 2023, then told them in October it would be end of March 2024, and here we are in June still without it. They’re probably still figuring out their plans on using these lands, and now have a search for a new President who will want to have some say in the new IMP. My guess is BC just sits on these properties for a few years, and will work through the current IMP with projects they know won’t change under a new IMP (apparently the archives and Newton plex projects), and we won’t see the new IMP that incorporates all of the new properties until end of 2026. Hope I’m wrong on that and they’re closer to completion, I’m definitely very curious about their plans for the future.
 
Enrico Pallazzo said:
That’s the big question, right? When they acquired the archdiocese land, they also started a new religious grad school covering both lay minister and Jesuit training. BC‘s done a whole bunch of stuff to that campus so far and has more things on its current master plan. But none of them (except for religious archive expansion of the library) directly impact the actual academic portion of that school. Classes are held at Simboli, St. Clement’s, 3 Lake street — all of which pre-existed and have had just minor renovations.

In the Messina college case, Pine Manor already had 3 academic buildings plus a library, and dorms to house 200-300 people. And the school is opening in a month. Given their enrollment is 200 students, I doubt they need anything significantly more just to run that operation. If they needed more, they would have done it by now.

Similarly Mt. Alvernia had a big high school building already, which can easily be adapted to classrooms if they want. But no BC programs are currently on that space.

The answer really comes down to: how do they plan to use these properties, or in Brookline’s case, do they want to do anything beyond Messina college? And frankly I think that’s part of the reason for the delayed new IMP — BC told BDPA last summer that the new master plan would be ready by end of 2023, then told them in October it would be end of March 2024, and here we are in June still without it. They’re probably still figuring out their plans on using these lands, and now have a search for a new President who will want to have some say in the new IMP. My guess is BC just sits on these properties for a few years, and will work through the current IMP with projects they know won’t change under a new IMP (apparently the archives and Newton plex projects), and we won’t see the new IMP that incorporates all of the new properties until end of 2026. Hope I’m wrong on that and they’re closer to completion, I’m definitely very curious about their plans for the future.
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BC's long-term debt as of May 2023 was about $1.5 billion. All, or nearly all, of that debt is associated with capital construction. Long-term debt was 40 percent of the endowment's total value. (though debt and capital facilities are not part of the endowment). That might be enough to give BC a reason to pause, at least until borrowing costs come down.
 
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