Several construction projects are underway at Notre Dame as the University continues to execute its 10-year development plan.
On the west side of campus, Duncan Hall, a new male dormitory, is being built next to McGlinn Hall. Work on the building, funded by 1952 Notre Dame graduate Raymond T. Duncan, will be completed by the summer of 2008 and should house students in the fall of that year. The dorm will house 232 students and is being built to relieve overcrowding in the residence halls on campus.
The construction of three more dorms is included in the 10-year master plan.
Workers are currently in the process of completing masonry work on the second floor of Duncan, Vice President for Business Operations Jim Lyphout said.
In preparation for a new Law School building on DeBartolo quad, work was done last spring on the chilled water system between the Morris Inn and the Notre Dame Post Office. The Post Office was then torn down during the summer to accommodate for the new building.
Work is now underway on the law building, Lyphout said. An area beside the existing Law School has been fenced off, blocking pedestrian traffic down sidewalks from Main Circle to DeBartolo Hall. Excavation for the building is slated to start during the first week of school.
Further south on Notre Dame Avenue, construction on the new engineering building should start after Thanksgiving. Stinson-Remnick Hall, a $69.4 million engineering building, will be erected on the site currently occupied by the University Club.
The University Club will be torn down around Thanksgiving to make way for the work. Stinson-Remnick Hall should be completed in approximately three years.
The segment of Juniper Road which previously ran through campus was closed to traffic last year and has been transformed into a walker-friendly area, with a pedestrian plaza between Notre Dame Stadium and the Joyce Center.
During the week before commencement in May, a storm with high winds passed through the campus and knocked a small spire off the upper part of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. As a precaution, the three remaining small spires were removed during the summer. The spires will be replaced and other renovation and repair work will be done on the outside of the building. These repairs will not take place until summer 2008.
"It requires the erecting of scaffolding, and we don't want to do that now that school has started," he said. "We will wait until after graduation next year."
The storm also knocked down about 20 trees near the Clarke Memorial Fountain - commonly known as Stonehenge - and eight trees near the Grotto. The trees will be replaced in the spring of 2008.
Work is continuing on the Melissa Cook Stadium, which will house the varsity softball team. Construction began this summer and should be finished in April 2008.
Starting this semester, the area between the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center and Edison Road will be developed into Notre Dame Commons, a park-like area of approximately 12 acres.
The space will be landscaped and sidewalks will be added. Eventually, Lyphout said, the Commons area may have features like a clock tower and a sundial.
Immediately south of campus, construction should begin this fall on Eddy Street Commons, a 25-acre, $200 million project that will create a new residential area and will feature retail shops, restaurants and hotels.
The retail and restaurant sections should be completed by the summer of 2009, and the town homes and condominiums will be developed in phases, with completion set between 2009 and 2011.
