Tufts University Presses on With Campus Improvements

By Eric Althoff

MEDFORD, Mass.—Tufts University has unveiled a detailed plan of campus renovations and new construction for its various schools.

According to the university, the projects include a new solar carport, artificial turf in the campus’s Ellis Oval, a “simulation center” at its medical school and a new multidisciplinary facility due to open early next year.

The Joyce Cummings Center has been under construction at Tufts’ Medford-Somerville campus since 2019, with Procon acting as construction manager for the building.  The six-story facility will be home to the departments of computer science, mathematics and economics, as well as feature areas to be utilized by the school of engineering.  In addition, the Center for Applied Brain and Cognitive Sciences will be moving into the building.

The multidisciplinary facility is being envisioned as a new “gateway” to the university, and will live in an underused part of the campus.

Other projects underway at the university include renovations to the School of Medicine and Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, as well as relocating a “simulation center” to a different facility and upgrading it to include 16 simulation examination rooms.  The School of Medicine will also be adding a physical therapy program, with classes to be held largely at Tuft’s Medford-Somerville campus.

Also on the Medford-Somerville campus, the football field’s ground will be transitioned from grass to turf.  Furthermore, the Coolidge Room in Ballou Hall, which was constructed in 1854, will be undergoing a renovation to update the painting, carpeting, lighting and upgrade its technological capabilities.

The School of Arts and Sciences will see upgrades to the Michael Laboratory to bring HVAC up to modern specifications.  Additionally, the lab will be given a new facade, roof and windows.

The School of Engineering will also be getting a new research laboratory.

According to Tufts, the university is aiming to be carbon-neutral by 2050, and thus is working to ensure that its buildings and energy strategies are sustainable moving forward.