The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) last week approved a five-story, 95,500-square-foot addition to the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine.
The expansion, which will capitalize on Tufts' ongoing capital campaign, will add clinical space and allow the school to better meet the needs of the community.
While the plan was first included over three decades ago in the institution's original master plan, recent space constraints have made the change more pressing.
The enlargement of the graduate school's building will add five stories to the top of the preexisting 10-story structure, which opened in 1973 and is located at One Kneeland Street at the entrance of the New England Medical Center. The school's entrance on Washington Street will also be aesthetically improved.
Included in the plan is the creation of two floors of clinical space mainly for the use of four of the school's postdoctoral programs, a new home for administrative and student services, an improved and expanded simulation clinic, and a floor of shelf space set aside for future growth, according to Joseph Castellana, the executive associate dean of the Dental School.
Twenty-four dental chairs will also be added, which will allow more patients to be seen at the school each day.
The enlargement will be funded principally by Beyond Boundaries, Tufts' ongoing capital campaign. Funds will also principally come from the Dental School and with loans taken out by the university, Castellana said.
The institution also plans to increase enrollment by more than fifty students over the next few years and will add ten permanent members to its faculty.
"We have tried to accommodate the growth both in program and in patient services within the existing footprint, but we've exhausted all our options," Castellana said.
He cited overcrowding as a result of increased enrollment and a greater need within the community for patient services as the main reasons the school deciding to proceed with the expansion at this time.
Christine Fennelly, the director of public relations for the Tufts University Health Sciences Campuses, told the Daily that the main problem the growth will address is the lack of proper space for the burgeoning student population.
"You can imagine, with the growing student body and the need for clinical space, the need for the expansion," Fennelly said.
The school submitted a proposal for the addition in March 2007, and the construction is expected to begin in March 2008. It is expected to be completed in Dec. 2009.
According to Castellana, the construction will not have a significant impact on student life.
"We are entirely committed to providing the students with an academic experience that is equal to what would occur without the construction," Castellana said, although he admitted that there would be some minor inconveniences to students and faculty that are inherent in a major construction project.
Both the City of Boston and the Dental School have also expressed excitement about the community benefits that come with the expansion project.
As part of the BRA-approved plan, the university has agreed to fund improvements to local neighborhoods, including the Chinatown and Downtown Crossing areas.
"We're really proud that Tufts is stepping up and helping out with these contributions," Jessica Shumaker, a spokesperson for the BRA, said.
The Dental School also agreed to continue its workforce development programs and to develop some new ones.
"[These] contributions are huge, in terms of working with Boston kids and encouraging them to go into the dental medicine field in school and also working to employ more Boston residents who are already in this field," she said.
According to Castellana, these efforts represent a continuation of an already-existing commitment to the community.
"We have agreed to expand on what is already a significant community benefits program," he said.
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino echoed Shumaker's enthusiasm.
"The Tufts Dental School expansion is not only good for Tufts, but it's good for the community and city as a whole," Menino said in a BRA press release. "In addition to their improved services for students and patients, Tufts is making a real commitment to employ Boston residents and promote dental medicine as a career for Boston youth."
