Although last year’s Senior Class Gift Committee hoped last spring to unveil a new park on campus by this year’s Homecoming Weekend, construction on the project has not begun and may not be completed by before the end of the academic year.

The park, which the committee proposed in the spring as the centerpiece of its gift to Georgetown, will be built on the plot of land near Red Square between the Reiss Science Building and the Bunn Intercultural Center.

Craig Huntington (COL ’06), a former co-chair of the committee who is currently an assistant hall director in Copley Hall, said that discussions regarding “the park’s exact location and what it will include” did not take place until this semester. The timetable for completing the project will depend on scheduling with contractors, and the park will likely not be open before May, he said.

“It’s really difficult to say,” Huntington said.

Although THE HOYA reported in May that Huntington and former co-chair Stephanie Hill (COL ’06) hoped to unveil the park by this year’s Homecoming Weekend, Huntington said that had never been the committee’s actual intention.

“I think the goal was perhaps to unveil plans by Homecoming,” he said. “We have somewhat solid plans.”

Hill declined to comment.

Plans for the senior class gift also include a mural in Hoya Court. Though committee members said in May that the mural would likely be painted during the summer, work on the project has not yet begun.

Vice President for Facilities and Student Housing Karen Frank said that she has discussed plans for constructing the park with former members of the committee, but that construction will not proceed until the committee lays out its own plan.

“We have met . to present design options, review product options and review options to enable the group to stay within their budget,” she said. “We are awaiting their decisions before we can move forward with design and construction.”

Huntington said that construction for the park will involve removing several small trees in the proposed location and inserting a retaining wall to level the ground.

There are also plans to provide picnic tables for the park, Huntington said.

Jeff Donahoe, Georgetown’s senior director of advancement communications, said that last year’s senior class raised over $40,000 for the park, which will fund “the bulk” of construction costs.

Huntington said that the committee hopes to secure an additional $10,000 from the university to help fund the project. He said that initial estimates for the construction were around $80,000, but that the university is absorbing much of the costs by providing its own labor and helping purchase materials at low costs.