Renovation on the Pine Tree Preserve, located at the corner of Campanella Way and St. Thomas More Road, will come to a conclusion at the end of July. The Preserve will provide four acres of green space to Boston College students and faculty.
The University has agreed to manage the land, despite it being owned by the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority. The renovation efforts focused on removing trees, in addition to adding paths, irrigation infrastructure, and lights.
“We are pleased that Pine Tree Preserve is nearing completion and will open at the end of the month,” Associate Vice President of University Communications Jack Dunn said in an email to The Heights. “We look forward to hosting a ceremony in the early Fall with officials from the MWRA and [the Department of Conservation and Recreation], local elected officials, and neighbors, all of whom have supported this effort throughout the process.”
Landscape Planning and Services Director Regina Bellavia said in a University press release that the updates included new dogwood and witch hazel trees.
The University’s next landscaping endeavor will reshape the land separating the Preserve and the new Margot Connell Recreation Center, which opened in early July.
The conclusion of the Pine Tree Preserve project coincides with the commencement of the Pete Frates Center construction. Frates, BC ’07, played baseball during his time on the Heights and has since led awareness and fundraising campaigns for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), including the Ice Bucket Challenge. Frates was diagnosed with ALS in 2012.
The Center will be apart of the Harrington Athletics Village and will house player locker rooms, lounges, and a hospitality suite overlooking the field. There will also be a turf field and hitting tunnels on the second floor of the facility. The project is slated to be completed next summer, according to the University release.
Construction crews began working on the roadway between 129 Lake Street, where the Center sits, and the Village, this summer. A temporary parking lot has been made available on the Brighton campus near the Village since the construction of the Pete Frates Center has eliminated other parking spaces.
Featured Image Courtesy of BC News
