Stu Vi II Topped Off in Monday Ceremony
Exterior work is next step
Next semester the BU community will get a new view of Student Village Phase II, the 960-bed residence hall scheduled to open in 2009, when the steel frames are completed and the exterior work begins.
A topping-off ceremony, in which the last steel beam, signed by workers and project administrators, will be placed at the building’s highest point, is scheduled to take place today, December 17, at 11:30 a.m. Peter Cusato, the University’s vice president for auxiliary services, says the next step is applying the structure’s “skin” — a process that should take about six months.
“The terra-cotta panels, glass and metal units, punched windows, and roof will get completed,” Cusato says. “While it’s being enclosed, rough plumbing and electrical systems will continue to go in and interior stud walls get erected. It’s right on schedule to be completed in June of 2009, with occupancy on Labor Day.”
The new residence hall, nicknamed Stu Vi II, consists of two towers — one 19 stories high, the other 26 — and offers both suite-style and apartment-style rooms. The variety reflects BU’s desire to accommodate different ages and lifestyles, Cusato says, since the new residence will be open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. The suites will have four single and two double bedrooms, with a shared kitchen and two bathrooms; the apartments will be similar to those at 10 Buick St., with four single bedrooms per apartment.
Currently, approximately 11,190 BU undergraduates live in campus housing. With the new building, 80 percent of undergraduates will be able to live on campus.
Jessica Ullian can be reached at jullian@bu.edu.