Plans for the construction of the new business school building, multi-sport facility and Royden B. Davis, S.J., Performing Arts Center are all progressing as expected, according to university officials.

McDonough School of Business Interim Dean Reena Aggarwal said three years of planning and collaboration with the facilities office and Goody Clancy architects for the construction of a new business school building have produced a final design.

Plans for the building are also moving further with the recent hiring of Whiting-Turner as the construction manager, Aggarwal said.

Fundraising and preparations have gone “exactly as planned,” Aggarwal said.

Excavation and foundation work on the business building are expected to begin in Nov. 2005, and construction is to begin in July 2006. The business school buildings are expected to officially open in summer 2008.

Aggarwal said changes in the design of the building have been only aesthetic in nature, with the basic structure remaining the same. She expects the building “to create a much more enriching intellectual environment” for the business school.

The building will provide breakout rooms, a common atrium for individual and group study and will facilitate easier interaction with faculty, according to Aggarwal.

Georgetown’s Board of Directors approved funding for the business building last September to complete designs and road utility realignment for the new structure.

University spokeswoman Julie Bataille said that the first phase of construction of the multi-sport facility, the building of a new surface for Harbin field, has begun as planned.

A D.C. Board of Zoning Adjustment ruling earlier this month allowed Georgetown to move forward with construction of the facility as originally proposed in 2000.

It will comprise a 4,500-seat complex adaptable for football, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s soccer and field hockey games.

To allow for possible hosting of NCAA tournament play, the field will comply with NCAA requirements. The area could also be used for other student activities such as academic convocations, graduation or concerts.

“The second phase will be to develop an enhanced press box and scoreboard, [and] the third phase will address our need for improved locker room facilities,” university spokeswoman Laura Cavender said in an interview last fall.

The tentative grand opening of the Davis Performing Arts Center is scheduled for mid-November 2005, according to Ron Lignelli, managing director of the program in performing arts.

The state-of-the-art facility will be the new hub for the Program in Performing Arts, housing two fully-equipped theatres, design studios, scene and costume shops, administrative offices and classrooms.

“It is the first new academic building on the campus in 20 years, and will serve our students well with the campus’ interdisciplinary interests in theater, dramatic art and performance studies,” Maya Roth, director of the PPA theater program, said in a March interview.

The facility, constructed from cinderblock and brick, will cover 39,600 square feet, with the former Ryan Administration Building serving as the center’s lobby, restroom and office area.

In two to four weeks, the building is expected to be “sealed,” allowing most construction on interior finishing to continue despite any inclement weather or road closings, which have interrupted construction periodically to this point.