The beginning and end dates of construction for the Hopkins block of the Charles Village Project have been delayed to allow more time for planning. Demolition of buildings on the west 3300 block of St. Paul St., initially scheduled for early spring semester, will begin this summer. The finish date has been moved from late summer 2005 to early summer 2006.
As a result, Hopkins buildings such as Ivy Hall that were slated to close this spring to pave way for construction will now remain open through the spring semester.
The process of securing city building permits is on schedule, but Hopkins has decided to finalize design plans related to dining and housing, according to David McDonough, senior director of development oversight for Johns Hopkins Real Estate, which will purchase the completed site from Streuver Bros. developers.
"Hopkins has decided to spend more time thinking about housing and dining issues and they need the adequate time to comfortably decide what to design and build," McDonough said. "It's more important for things to be done right than for them to be done quickly."
The delay means that Ivy Hall, a residence building that was among the buildings scheduled for demolition this spring, is now available for student housing next semester. Current residents of Ivy Hall received emails Nov. 14 announcing that the building would remain open for spring 2004 and that they have first priority to renew their leases. The Ivy will be open to upperclassmen and graduate students. Leases for the semester are $2,567 and include utilities and Ethernet connection.
Before changing the demolition date, the University had announced that Ivy Hall leases would only be for fall semester. All residents who would have renewed their lease for a full year were required to move to student housing in the Homewood Apartments.
"I took the Ivy because it was a place to live for just a semester and I knew that I wouldn't need to find a sublet," said junior Travis Snow.
"It's an underutilized place to live. There's a not of people in the building. They haven't filled it for this semester so I don't know why next semester would be any different."
In addition, the Hopkins parking garage and the Hopkins building at 3301 St. Paul St. will stay open for use in the spring, according to McDonough.
The Hopkins block of the Charles Village Project is a major redevelopment plan for University property on the west 3300 block of St. Paul St. The revamped Hopkins block will include a new Barnes and Noble bookstore, a new residence and dining hall, and more parking spaces.
With the original construction set for use in the 2005-06 school year, current sophomores would have experienced a year of the new Hopkins block and freshmen two years. The project, now expected to be completed for the 2006-07 school year, leaves only the current freshmen with the opportunity to utilize the new buildings.
"We're working diligently to get the project completed as soon as possible," McDonough said.
Dennis O'Shea, Hopkins Public Affairs Executive Director, reiterated that no city permits have been denied and that the delay is only a matter of the design process.
The east and west 3200 blocks of St. Paul will be renovated later on and independently by Streuver Bros. to include restaurant and retail space.
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