Suffolk Univ. seeking to build $68m art center on Beacon Hill

A rendering of the academic building proposed for 20 Somerset St. that would replace the MDC building there. (Suffolk University)

Suffolk University filed plans with city officials yesterday for a new $68 million academic building, a 10-story, contemporary, glass-dominated structure overlooking a revamped public plaza atop Beacon Hill.

The Somerset Street building would replace the former Metropolitan District Commission headquarters, a brick building that has fallen into disrepair and has been unoccupied for several years. The new facility, a cornerstone of the university's expansion campaign, would house the university's art school, including a first-floor art gallery, and classrooms.

University officials presented preliminary designs of the building last week to a community task force studying the plan. Neighbors, who defeated earlier plans for a dormitory on the site, have voiced support for the new proposal, although neighborhood and city reviews of the design likely will last several months.

This summer, the city approved the university's broader expansion blueprint after a June agreement between university officials and the chief Beacon Hill neighborhood group.

The unusual town-gown accord prevents the university from expanding into the bulk of Beacon Hill in exchange for neighborhood support for the Somerset project and other planned university developments.

John Nucci, Suffolk's vice president for external affairs, who has led negotiations with Beacon Hill neighbors over expansion plans, said proposals for the plaza include an exhibit commemorating the history of the MDC.

The university hopes to transform the area, largely abandoned after workers leave for the day, into an attractive meeting place at a heavily trafficked intersection.

"It's really designed to be a public area," Nucci said. "We hope it becomes a gathering spot for state workers, residents, and students alike."

Nucci said Suffolk has agreed to pay the state $10 million for the property, which has structural problems and will be leveled to make way for the new building. Neighbors urged university officials to recognize the MDC's history of public conservation and construction in the new park, Nucci said.

The front of the building, which will overlook the plaza, will feature a clear facade to "create a sense of activity," Nucci said.

"Most folks feel there's a need to brighten up that area," he said. "Right now it's a 9-to-5 environment."

The back of the building, which overlooks the Garden of Peace, a memorial to city murder victims, will be translucent to convey a quieter feel, according to the design plans.

The university hopes to complete the building in 2011. Suffolk is poised to begin construction this fall on a 200-student dormitory and studio theater on the site of the historic Modern Theatre on Washington Street.

Bob O'Brien, a community task force member and executive director of the Downtown North Association, said the design was well-received, although some neighbors felt it was too contemporary for an area dominated by more traditional architecture.

O'Brien said he thought the building's open, modern design and a revamped plaza could energize the neighborhood.

"I am very encouraged by this," he said.

"This could have an immediate and very beneficial impact. There's a sense this building can affect the surrounding areas in many positive ways."