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The new education and research building, to be located between the Lazare Research Building and the Albert Sherman Center, will expand the research and educational capabilities at UMass Medical School. The benefits of this project for the Medical School’s research and academic missions are significant. It also means the campus is about to begin a three-year construction project that will have significant impacts on daily activities.
Construction of this nine-story, 350,000-square-foot structure will require demolition of a portion of the First Road garage. Enabling work begins in early November, with portions of the campus green and First Road garage being the first areas to be fenced for the project by the construction management company Shawmut Design and Construction.
Beginning Monday, Nov. 2, Shawmut’s office trailers will be installed on the campus green and a fence enclosing the construction zone will be erected, which will change pedestrian routes and impact parking in the First Road garage.
On Monday, Nov. 16, unreserved parking will end in the First Road garage. This restriction includes unreserved parkers from the Plantation Street garage who have “off shift” parking privileges. As of Nov. 16, all unreserved parking permit holders formerly using the First Road garage must park in the Pine Tree lot or other unreserved campus lots.
The electric vehicle charging stations on the first floor of the garage will come out of service on Nov. 16 as well. They will eventually be relocated elsewhere in the garage. During this period of construction, all electric vehicle drivers are urged to charge their vehicles at home and use charging stations at the Plantation Street garage only when necessary.
Reserved parking will continue in the First Road garage; however, all those assigned to reserved floors will move up one floor from their current assignment. Second floor parkers will move to the third floor; third floor parkers to the fourth floor, and so on. Those assigned to the first floor will relocate to the third floor while a new second floor vehicle entrance is constructed. New signage will direct parkers to the appropriate floor.
The Parking and Access Control office will relocate to the Michelson Conference Room on the first floor of the Lazare Research Building and maintain its hours of 8 a.m. to noon.
Looking ahead, as construction on the new building continues, reassignment of some employees who have reserved parking in the First Road garage will happen in January. They will be notified individually of their new assigned parking location.
Pedestrian routes will change significantly during construction, so people are urged to pay special attention to signage and stay within designated walkways. The campus green and sidewalk in front of the First Road garage will be closed, so pedestrians walking between the Sherman Center and the LRB will be directed around the construction zone.
The pedestrian bridges connecting the LRB and the Sherman Center to the First Road garage will close in early January. Temporary walkways will be installed so people can walk safely from the LRB into the section of the First Road garage that will remain in service. Pedestrian access from the Sherman Center into the First Road garage will be maintained at ground level, with access to the stair and elevator tower.
In summary, this is the beginning of a significant project that will change the way people use the campus for several years. Every effort will be made to notify campus constituencies in a timely manner of other impacts as the project proceeds.
For additional information on the project, and periodic construction updates, please visit https://umassmed.edu/NERB/
