As part of an inititive to expand the Homewood campus to include more visitor-friendly space, construction on the Decker Quadrangle, which will replace the Garland parking lot, began in August.
The quadrangle construction project will include a new visitors' center intended to provide more space for campus visitors, two research buildings and an underground parking garage for the Baltimore Museum of Art.
The Decker Quad will be surrounded by four buildings, including the already standing Garland and Clark Halls. New buildings on the east side will include a Computational Sciences building and an interdisciplinary building for engineering research, which will be built next to Barton Hall.
The new Visitors' Center will be built on the southern edge of the quad and will replace the first floor of Garland as a starting point for tour groups, said Travers Nelson, program manager of the office of facilities maagement.
Three spaces will remain open for future development, allowing for a six-building quad, similar to the Upper Quad.
In addition to the new buildings, the Decker Quad will sit on top of the new three-story parking garage for visitors and guests of the Baltimore Museum of Art, which will replace the current lot in front of Garland.
The current lot in front of Garland remained open during the summer and move-in, but was closed on Tuesday morning after students moved in over Labor Day Weekend. Visitors will now have to park in the Stony Run lot, also known as the R Lot, which is located at the corner of San Martin and Wyman Park Drive.
The closing of the Garland parking lot will have a significant impact on pedestrian traffic, especially on students who normally walk across the lot to reach the Wyman Park Building.
"Unfortunately, there are going to be some detours, but there are still ways to get to the Wyman Park Building. Students will need to go around Clark and Hodson Halls," Nelson said.
Nelson said that the best way to get to the Wyman Park Building from the campus is via Bowman Drive, which begins behind Levering, runs behind Clark and Hodson and ends in front of the Wyman Park Building.
Nelson also said that due to the increased pedestrian traffic along Bowman Drive, the school is asking the city to install warning signs and crosswalks along Wyman Park Drive, which students will have to cross to get to the Wyman Park Building.
The project, which began over the summer, is scheduled to be completed sometime during the summer of 2007. According to Nelson, the project is still on schedule and is still projected to be completed on time. In addition, the shuttles, which depart behind Shriver Hall, will not be interrupted by the construction next door.
Students at Hopkins have expressed mixed reactions to the construction. Ron Gorham, a sophomore who frequently crosses the Garland parking Lot, feels the temporary inconvenience is worth it.
"I know it will make it harder to get around for a while, but having a new quad and a new visitors' center will be great for the school," he said.
Holly Orr, a junior who also frequently crosses the lot, agrees. "In the short term, there are going to be some inconveniences, but in the long term, I think it's going to be very good. Having an underground parking lot is much better than having it above ground; there is a lot more space," Orr said.
Formerly referred to as the South Quad, the Board of Trustees changed the name in June to honor Virginia Decker and her husband, Alonzo Decker of the Black & Decker Corporation, who died in 2002.
Alonzo Decker served as a University trustee and counselor to the president for over 30 years. He was also involved with the University's fund-raising campaign in the 1970s. Virginia Decker has served as a member of the advisory council for the School of Professional Studies in Business and Education.
