Warren Towers to Get Multiyear, $550 Million Renovation—AC Included
Preliminary construction begins on 1960s residence that houses 1,800 undergrads at the “crossroads” of campus

Net-zero greenhouse emissions, accommodations for 21st century IT, and air-conditioning: all that is part of a multiyear, multimillion dollar rehab of Warren Towers that begins this semester. Photo by Kate Kotlyar (COM’26)
Warren Towers to Get Multiyear, $550 Million Renovation—AC Included
Preliminary construction begins on 1960s BU residence that houses 1,800 undergrads at the “crossroads” of campus
Warren Towers is the nation’s second-largest nonmilitary dormitory (a behemoth at the University of Texas at Austin edges it out). Yet for all their imposing physical presence, the residence’s three towers, home to 1,800 Boston University undergraduates and first occupied back in the 1960s, during the Vietnam War, have gotten a bit long in the tooth.
This month, the University begins a three-and-a-half-year, $550 million rehab that will give this Age of Aquarius monument an Age of Taylor Swift makeover. When work is completed, Warren will boast new plumbing and security systems, infrastructure for 21st-century information technology, a remodeled dining hall with new equipment, and net-zero greenhouse emissions.
Oh, and did we mention air-conditioned rooms?
During the work, which will culminate in the summer of 2028, each of the 18-story towers will close for more than a year, on a staggered schedule to accommodate the renovations. Their residents “will be relocated to other existing University residential hall facilities, with a significant portion going to the Fenway Campus,” says David Flynn, BU’s assistant vice president for major capital projects.
Tower A will be vacant for construction from fall 2025 through spring semester 2026, Flynn says. Students in Tower B will vacate from fall semester 2026 through spring semester 2027, while Tower C will empty from fall semester 2027 through spring semester 2028. In addition, the entire Warren Towers complex, excluding the first floor retail spaces and parking, will close during each of the next four summers.
“This is a very important project for the campus, happening at its crossroads,” he says. “The renovation will provide much needed renewal of building systems and finishes, and with the offsets provided by BU Wind, will be net-zero of greenhouse gas emissions.” (BU Wind buys clean power from a South Dakota wind farm and resells it to Midwest consumers. By helping to decarbonize that region, the University receives legal clean-energy credits to apply against its carbon emissions in Boston.) Those credits, plus the renovation’s replacement of the current natural gas–generated heating with electricity, will make the new Warren Towers net-zero in emissions.
This is a very important project for the campus, happening at its crossroads.
“Project safety, for those outside and inside the construction fence line is by far our most important objective,” Flynn says. “Similar to the construction phase of the Duan Family Center for Computing & Data Sciences, we expect there will be campus impacts to traffic, pedestrian flows and noise to the BU community—all of which we intend to minimize to the degree possible.”
Daytime work will run from 7 am until 3:30 pm, with night work from 8 pm until 7 am. The University will provide public updates on the project here.
Preliminary work, which has started and will run through May, involves the erection of scaffolding, the installation of building wrap, and what’s known in the trade as PMH (Personnel and Materiel Hoist). “The wrap allows us to keep weathertight and heated during the winter,” Flynn says, “so that exterior masonry and window replacement work can proceed through the cold months. [Workers will repair and restore the entire exterior masonry and replace every window.] In addition, it does also protect from any dust or other materials being blown from the construction areas.”
Work crews also will add insulation to bring the exterior walls and roof areas up to current energy codes and achieve that net-zero emissions goal. They’ll replace roof areas and drains as well.
Residents will really notice the work inside the building. Besides that AC, every student room and lounge will get a makeover: new walls, floors, ceilings, doors, lighting, and electrical devices.
Hallway and corridor walls, floors, and ceilings will be refinished, with new lighting. Existing bathrooms will be replaced with private, all-gender lavatories. The towers will get new plumbing, information technology infrastructure, and security systems, while the building’s dining hall will be remodeled and outfitted with new cooking equipment, furniture, and serveries.
The architect is Miller Dyer Spears of Boston; the contractor is Shawmut Design & Construction, also based in Boston.
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