Internal demolition of the Ryan Administration Building and site excavation will begin as early as next week, marking the beginning of construction on a new performing arts center.

The Ryan Administration Building, which sits directly behind Copley Hall, will undergo a $30.8 million overhaul and expansion to become the Rev. Royden B. Davis, S.J., Performing Arts Center. The project is scheduled to be complete by April 2005.

“The initial construction isn’t going to be real exciting,” Karen Frank, vice president for university facilities and student housing, said. “You can’t see the interior demolition, but you might be able to hear it or see evidence in dumpsters.”

Construction workers, conscious of the fact that students live nearby, will be considerate of students during the morning hours, Frank said, as the construction site is adjacent to both Copley and Harbin Halls. While interior work can proceed at any time, Frank said that noisy work will occur between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

For now, construction will be limited to excavation and demolition because the university has not yet received a final building permit. Without the permit, the university can continue to work on the site but it cannot begin actual construction on the building.

Initial construction will also consist of removing the foliage from the hillside. A fence will be installed between the Harbin walkway and the backside of the construction site.

Frank said that unlike the Southwest Quadrangle project, construction on the new performing arts center will be contained.

Frank said the project will not require any major campus road closures, though some may be necessary to complete utility connections.

Lot T will be used as the staging area for construction. Parking will be restricted to construction vehicles and a fence has been installed to allow cars to cut through the parking lot while restricting access to the parking lot.

Frank said that supplies will be delivered to Lot T so that construction can begin as soon as the internal demolition and digging have been completed.

The renovated facility will include two theaters, a 230-seat proscenium theater and a 90-seat black box studio theater, each equipped with state-of-the-art lighting and sound systems. The building will also include rehearsal spaces, a scene shop, a costume shop, dressing rooms, maintenance areas, arts classrooms and administrative and academic offices.

The Ryan Building housed the Office of Student Accounts until the end of August 2002, when the building was vacated to prepare for renovation.

The original plans for the Performing Arts Center were drafted in 1999, and administrators had hoped to see the building completed by September 2001. The official groundbreaking ceremony was held on Sept. 29, 2003.