Construction is proceeding on schedule for the Royden B. Davis, S.J., Performing Arts Center, which will be ready for use by the fall semester for theater programs, performances, offices and classrooms, according to Karen Frank, vice president of facilities and student housing.

Frank said that the complex will cost roughly $30.8 million, which is less than the allocated budget for the construction project.

“We are happy to say that all of the money financing the Davis Center comes from the funds raised by the Third Century Campaign,” Frank said.

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.

As for the future of music performance at Georgetown, music will continue to make use of Gaston Hall where it can, for Gaston remains the best acoustic space for music on campus, according to Roth.

“For music, the next big need is dedicated performance space and a renovation of the New North area for music studios,” Roth said.

The Davis Center’s larger theater, the Gonda Theater, will seat 229, serving as Georgetown’s prime theater location on campus.

“This is a wonderful size for theater performance,” Roth said. “Every seat in the house is great and it matches the scale of the Georgetown community, as well as serving students’ educational needs.”

Roth said that the smaller Devine Studio Theater will seat 90 and serve to be flexible in terms of audience and staging configurations, as it is “intimate enough to emphasize interaction between performer and audience member.”

Roth hopes that the new theaters will expand the promise of PPA’s mission to reach the interdisciplinary interests of Georgetown in order to use theatrical performance to engage in history, ideas, classics, art, language, cultural diversity and community.

“This is the first time that Georgetown will have spaces specifically designed with our discipline and methodologies in mind,” she said.

The Davis Center will also offer new classrooms that address the critical need of classroom, rehearsal and performance space on campus.

Roth explained that the performing arts center will also have the space to create collaboration between PPA and other departments and student groups across campus, by adding rehearsal and lab space in addition to flexible resources.

“Next year we will likely collaborate on programming with the Jewish Studies Program and feature programming that reaches those studying Shakespeare, Culture and Politics and those interested in Diaspora, justice and peace studies,” Roth said.

Roth also added that when PPA supports the fuller development of these disciplines and the people who participate in them, “we reach students in every school within the university.”

“We want to engage the ideas of every discipline at Georgetown,” she said.

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.

Frank said she expects the majority of the outside structure of the Davis Center to be completed by the end of May.