When students return to Brandeis in August, they will be arriving on a campus busy with construction.In a memo sent to the Brandeis community May 10, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Peter French detailed the demolitions, renovations and constructions that will begin over the next year.

The construction of the Shapiro Science Complex will continue throughout the summer, as will the renovation of the Heller-Brown building, the memo says.

New projects include the on-schedule demolition of Ridgewood Quad; the restoration of the Rabb steps; the renovation of the Deroy residence hall in Massell Quad, to be finished in time to house the midyear class of 2011; the removal of the gravel pile from Chapels Field; and the conversion of the space vacated by the University Registrar in Kutz Hall into a graduate student center.

Construction of the Safra Center for the Arts is scheduled to begin early next year.

French's memo did, however, note one planned project that will not be happening in the immediate future: The construction of a new parking lot has been postponed, French said, because it would be too disruptive with the other projects going on around campus.

After talking to the construction managers of the new residence hall and the science complex, "the conclusion was that we have to postpone [the new parking lot] for a couple of years," French said. "And that's exactly what we're doing."

This was also decided in concordance with the Waltham Fire department and the Waltham Police, to ensure that there would be enough emergency access.

Aggregate Industries, which has its concrete plant adjacent to the campus, has been talking about selling its property to the University French said. It is not clear whether or not this will actually happen, he said. About seven years ago, French said, there was also talk of this.

"That would be a good site to put a parking garage on," French said about the property.

French speculated that the project would be pushed back about two-and-a-half years.