The second phase of the University's $25 million infrastructure renewal project, which includes upgrades to residence hall fire safety systems, the construction of a new building for the Heller School, an expansion of the Rose Art Museum and an upgrade of the steam network, is now underway.Associate Vice President of Campus Operations Mark Collins said the "primary goal" of the project is the fire safety work.

Residence buildings that will receive fire safety upgrades during the summer of 2005 include Reitman, Cable and Gordon Halls in North Quad, and Renfield and Usen Halls in Massell Quad. The Foster Mods, Charles River Apartments 150 and 164 and 567 South Street will also be upgraded this summer.

Fire safety upgrades in all residence halls are slated to be complete by 2008, but according to Chief Operating Officer Peter French, "we are three years ahead of schedule," so the upgrades will likely be finished before that date.

A complete renovation of Scheffres, a part of the project, was completed this past winter.

French said the $25 million necessary to fund the infrastructure renewal project will be raised by issuing bonds.

Construction of the Schneider building, an extension of the Heller School, is expected to start within a few weeks. The expansion will add about 33,000 square feet to the Heller School. Classrooms, offices and a three-story lecture hall will be included in this new building. The building is expected to be completed in late spring 2006, according to Associate Vice President for Planning and Design Daniel Feldman.

Feldman said there is a great need for the graduate school's expansion because Heller was originally "sized for a much smaller occupancy; it is now bursting at the seams."

Most of the Schneider building's $14 million cost is being funded by the Schneider Foundation of New York, though other donors are also contributing to the project, Feldman said.

The expansion of the Rose Art Museum remains in the planning stages. Feldman said that new wing will create "an appropriate amount of storage space, educational space, preparation and work space as well as a reception area."

The educational space would serve the Rose Art Museum's goal of integrating more closely with the curriculum in art history and other areas.

"Some funds have been raised, and the University is working on raising the additional funds required [for the construction]," Feldman said.

According to a May 9 memo from French, the Ridgewood quad is slated for eventual removal in a later phase of the project. In its place would be a "Village 2" with an estimated capacity of 250 to 300 students, but this number has not yet been finalized, Feldman.

"There is still a lot of planning that needs to be done," Feldman said. Right now, with the direction of Senior Vice President Jean Eddy, "apartment style housing is being considered, with kitchens and common spaces."

As part of the infrastructure removal project, the steam network running from the peripheral road up the path that leads to the Hassenfeld Conference Center and the Faculty Club will also be updated during the summer.

"We are making the steam distribution system more efficient by replacing and repairing old pipes," said Collins, the campus operations head. After this work is complete, steam leaks in that area will hopefully be eliminated, he said.

Several construction projects have been completed at Brandeis in the past five years, including the addition of the Lois Foster Wing to the Rose Art Museum finished in September 2001 and the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Campus Center that was completed in September 2002 as well as the first phase of the infrastructure renewal project.