A university plan to renovate several floors of 716 Columbus Ave. was approved March 14 by the Boston Planning and Development Agency, or BPDA, according to a memorandum issued by the board. The renovations will include improvements to the basement and the first, second, fourth and fifth floors of the seven-story building, which is located in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood.
Northeastern filed a letter of intent Jan. 4 with the agency, which is responsible for managing and approving housing and commercial developments in the city, outlining the university’s plans to make “upgrades to the campus mail center and renovations to various academic departments across five floors,” the letter stated. Construction is anticipated to begin in April 2024 and conclude in September 2024, according to Associate Vice President of Campus Planning and Design at Northeastern Viktorija Abolina, who spoke at a BPDA meeting March 6. The renovations are estimated to cost $15 million, according to the memorandum.
716 Columbus Ave., or Columbus Place, houses the mail center for students living in various nearby on-campus housing, university administrative offices, the Alumni Center and the Northeastern University Police Department. After renovations are complete, Columbus Place will continue to house the aforementioned offices, according to the letter.
All renovations to Columbus Place will be completed without any changes to the square footage or height of the building. The main updates will include upgrades to the university’s mail center to increase efficiency of deliveries and “aesthetic upgrades to existing administrative office space to accommodate department growth and hybrid work models,” the university stated in a project notification form, or PNF, filed with the agency Jan. 16.
Students in on-campus housing who receive mail at Columbus Place will now receive mail at 7 Speare Place, according to an email sent to students Feb. 28.
The PNF also outlines public benefits that the renovation will produce, such as “sustainable partnerships in the community designed to promote the development of thriving communities along Northeastern’s institutional borders, especially in Roxbury.”
The renovations will also support the advancement of “community engagement or service strategy that is supported by Northeastern’s student and academic interests,” the PNF states.
The university also said in the PNF that it is prioritizing a sustainable renovation, and it will be working to reduce energy and water consumption “to reduce the Project’s impact on City services, the environment and public health.
Editors note: This story was updated to reflect the BPDA’s approval of the plan announced March 18.
