The University broke ground on several new construction projects this summer, and work will begin in May on a new residence quad to replace the Ridgewood Cottages, University officials said.The opening of the Schneider building, an extension of the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, has been pushed back from the beginning of the fall semester to the third week of October, said Peter French, the executive vice-president and chief operating officer.

The postponement was the result of a production delay by a window manufacturer, French said.

Heller faculty and staff will remain in their current offices and classes that would have been taught in the new facility will be relocated temporarily, said Dan Feldman, the associate vice president for planning, design and construction.

Work began July 20 on the $154 million Carl J. Shapiro Science Center, Feldman said.

The center-which will include state-of-the-art research labs, new classrooms and a caf, among other amenities-will replace the Kalman, Friedland and Edison-Lecks buildings .A fire access road has been added in the area, and construction efforts will begin in and around K-Lot, Feldman said.

"For the most part, [the construction] will have as little impact as we can manage," Feldman said, adding that the University will work to minimize any disruptions to classes and research in the current science complex,

Plans for a new residence hall, which will replace the Ridgewood Cottages, are currently in the developmental stages, Feldman said. Construction will begin after the existing Ridgewood Cottages are demolished after the Spring 2007 semester.

Also, the second phase of renovations to the Usdan Student Center began this month and should be complete by early November, Feldman said. The construction will create office space for Student Academic Services, a new conglomeration of the Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs and First-Year Services, the Registrar, Student Enrichment Services, and the Transitional Year Program.

The University also spent $1.5 million to upgrade heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems for classrooms in North Academic Quad, Feldman said. New sidewalks were installed behind Massell Quad and the chapels, and parking space was expanded in the north part of campus.