Kennedy College Breaking Ground on Olney Science Center Expansion
01/21/2025
By Ed Brennen
UMass Lowell’s largest building, the Olney Science Center, is getting even bigger — and better.
Construction work is about to start on a $127 million expansion and modernization of the Kennedy College of Sciences building on North Campus.
The 2½-year project begins in February with the demolition of the Olney 150 lecture hall.
In its place will rise a three-story wing that includes a dozen new physics, chemistry and weather labs, a 160-seat auditorium, a Starbucks cafe and plenty of common space for students to hang out and study.The 51,300-square-foot addition is expected to open for the spring 2027 semester.
The project also includes the renovation of 44,600 square feet of classroom, lab and office space on the first and second floors of the existing Olney building. That work is scheduled to be completed in time for the fall 2027 semester.
“This renovation represents a transformative step in how we teach and inspire our students in the sciences,” says Kennedy College Dean Noureddine Melikechi. “By creating state-of-the-art learning environments, we will provide hands-on experiences that mirror real-world scientific challenges. Our students will have access to cutting-edge tools and collaborative spaces that prepare them not just to learn, but to innovate and lead in STEM fields.”
Image by Goody Clancy
The atrium of the expanded Olney Science Center will serve as a vibrant new entry point to North Campus for students, faculty and staff.
During construction, the area between Olney, Pinanski Hall and the Costello Athletic Center will be fenced off. The primary pathway to and from the North Campus bus stop, parking lots and garage will be through the existing Olney entrance. During athletic events, a temporary covered walkway will provide access from the parking areas to Costello’s main entrance.
“This is a sizable project in a very tight site,” says Rupinder Sembhi, director of capital projects for Facilities Management.
The Olney addition will feature a dramatic, two-story, cantilevered wing extending over the bus loop and sidewalk below. The exterior of the addition will be patinated brass with a greenish-blue hue.
From the accessible ground-floor entrance, students, faculty and staff will be greeted by an airy, skylit atrium with a grand staircase to the first and second floors. (There will also be a new elevator servicing all three levels.)
The ground floor will include the new auditorium and a 24-seat classroom, as well as new chemical handling facilities and a loading dock for the Environmental Health and Safety Department.
The first floor will feature five teaching labs and a prep lab for the Physics and Applied Physics Department. It will also be home to the Starbucks, which will face a redesigned plaza between Olney and Pinanski halls.
Image by Goody Clancy
The Olney Science Center expansion project includes a new Starbucks cafe facing a redesigned plaza adjacent to Pinanski Hall.
On the second floor, there will be five teaching labs and a prep lab for the Chemistry Department, as well as a new weather lab for Environmental, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences students.
Each floor will have study nooks and seating areas with whiteboards to encourage student collaboration.
“We want to make it a vibrant place for students to gather and use their creativity — and also make it a true gateway to North Campus,” Sembhi says.
The Einstein Bros. Bagels on the first floor of Olney will close and be replaced by a student “living room” with flexible seating and whiteboards.
Six classrooms will be renovated in the existing Olney building, including three that will become Technology Enhanced Active Learning (TEAL) classrooms. TEAL classrooms are equipped with six-person tables centered around 55-inch touchscreen monitors, making it easier for students to collaborate and participate in group work.
Built in 1974, Olney is the largest building on campus at 232,600 square feet — just ahead of University Crossing (232,476) and Fox Hall (227,004). It is named for Louis Atwell Olney, who chaired Lowell Textile School’s chemistry and dyeing department for 47 years, from 1897 to 1945.
With UML’s pending rise to Research 1 status, the highest level awarded by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, Melikechi notes that investments such as the Olney expansion “reflect our commitment to advancing teaching, research and discovery.”
“These enhanced facilities will not only enrich the student experience but also attract leading faculty and researchers, and better position us as a hub for groundbreaking scientific inquiry and discovery,” he says.
Elsewhere around campus, construction continues on the new esports arena on the lower level of University Crossing, downstairs from the River Hawk Shop. Expected to open in the fall, the space will include a gaming arena, a broadcast room, a dedicated audio/visual room, a team room and a lounge area.
On South Campus, the opening of the renovated quad has been postponed until spring. According to Leanne Peters, executive director of planning, design and construction for Facilities Management, ongoing delays in material deliveries and adverse weather conditions have forced postponement of project activities, including the pouring of concrete, which has impacted the overall timeline. The plaza will remain closed during this time. Construction activities will resume as soon as the weather allows.
At the Campus Recreation Center, temporary repairs to the roof over the basketball courts and indoor track will soon get underway. That section of the roof is slated to be replaced this summer.
Also on East Campus, infrastructure preparations continue for the Lowell Innovation Network Corridor, or LINC, a public-private venture that plans to add over 1 million square feet of new lab and office space, hundreds of units of housing, new retail and entertainment venues and thousands of jobs.
Back on North Campus, renovation of the Ball Hall 214 lecture hall is underway. It is scheduled to reopen this fall with new seating, audiovisual projection, lighting and HVAC.
