After an initial delay, 300 Hammond Pond Parkway is now available for students to schedule rehearsal space in the evenings. Boston College is providing busing to and from Main Campus on days students have scheduled to rehearse in it, according to Carrie Klemovitch, special assistant to the vice president of Student Affairs and director of special projects.
“Currently the spaces available at 300 Hammond Pond Parkway are not set up as a drop-in space, security and transportation are only being provided on days the space is reserved,” Klemovitch said in an email.
While BC initially received requests from students to use the space three nights a week, students are now only rehearsing there on Monday and Wednesday evenings, Klemovitch said. The BC Police Department is also staffing the space when groups are using it.
BC acquired the 24-acre land at 300 Hammond Pond Parkway in 2015. The property, located 1.2 miles from Main Campus, was previously home to the oldest Conservative Jewish synagogue in the Boston area, Congregation Mishkan Tefila.
BC announced that it would be opening the rehearsal space to students in the beginning of last semester as part of the BC After Hours initiative. The program, which was aimed at opening up more spaces for student use in the evening hours, came after various student performance groups had voiced their concerns about finding practice space in the past.
When After Hours initially launched, the BC website stated that rehearsal space at 300 Hammond Pond Parkway and shuttle bus services to the location would be available beginning on Sept. 17. A combination of security requirements and student interest in the space pushed BC to delay the opening, Klemovitch told The Heights in November.
The space also needed to be brought up to the University’s standards for security measures, such as locks and cameras, especially since it was still undergoing renovations, BC Chief of Police Bill Evans said at the time.
Klemovitch said that there is still availability—and that Student Affairs would love—for other groups to use the space. Students can schedule rehearsal time at 300 Hammond Pond Parkway by contacting the Robsham Theater Arts Center, and groups that are interested in the space and would like a tour can contact Kier Byrnes, the center’s director.
