The college does not have a confirmed opening date for The Commons on 172 Tremont St., according to Director of the Campus Center Joshua Hamlin.
Hamlin announced in a Nov. 2, 2018 forum with student organizations that the college would open the building to all students on March 11, and that student organizations would move into The Commons between March 4 and March 8.
On Jan. 25, Hamlin said he could not give an exact date as to when the building will open, or when the college will announce an updated timeline. The City of Boston still needs to issue an occupancy permit to the college for the building.
The Commons will become a student center, with offices and meeting spaces on almost every floor.
The fourth floor will include the Center for Spiritual Life and the Office of Intercultural Student Affairs, Hamlin said. The Center for Spiritual Life will offer an ablution, a place for Muslim students to cleanse their hands and feet for prayer—a first for the college—along with a private prayer space and a reflection room.
On each floor, “pods”—glass-walled meeting spaces for students—occupy the center of the space. Off-campus students and student organizations will also have large locker-style storage spaces on every floor to hold supplies.
The second and third floors will house most of the student organization offices and meeting spaces. The second floor will also include a large kitchen with cafe-style seating. Hamlin said he hopes to have students illustrate murals on walls in the cooking area.
Student organizations who wish to have cooking events in the kitchen will have to take a food safety class beforehand, Hamlin said.
A lobby and lounge area will occupy the first floor. The lower floor will contain more storage for student organizations and a new multipurpose room, currently situated in the Max Mutchnick Campus Center in the Piano Row residence hall.
The spaces and offices in the Max Mutchnick Campus Center will not close until the move occurs. Hamlin said the college will not allow students to pre-book space in The Commons before they set an opening date. Students can reserve spaces in the Campus Center until March 1.
Hamlin said The Commons, once opened, will have operating hours from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m.
