Activity has begun to make way for construction of the new Broadway Research Building, a 380,000-square-foot, 10-story facility to be located on the corner of Madison and Broadway on the JHMI campus.

The rectangular area bounded by Madison on the north, East Monument on the south, Rutland Avenue on the east and Broadway on the west will be in a state of flux for the next three years while the construction work progresses, according to John Grinnalds, senior director of the School of Medicine's Office of Facilities Management.

Located within this space are the School of Medicine Administration Building; the Traylor, Turner and Ross Research buildings; and the Kennedy Krieger Institute.

"The School of Medicine has not seen anything of this magnitude in terms of construction," Grinnalds said. "This is the most expensive research building we have built on this campus."

The $140 million building, part of an approximately $324 million investment in research infrastructure on the medical campus, is the future home of the McKusick-Nathans Institute for Genetic Medicine, other School of Medicine laboratories and office space, and a state-of-the-art vivarium.

It is slated to open in July 2003.

Grinnalds said the fast-tracked project's urban location poses logistical challenges that will require street closings, pedestrian detours, loading dock relocations and a sensitivity to the daily operations of adjacent buildings.

Much work has to be done before actual construction can begin, however.

"Normally you come to the building site, you clear it and then start digging a hole," Grinnalds said. "In this case, however, we have an 'enabling package' that has two or three months in front of it before we even get to that point." The enabling portion, or initial phase, of the project is focused on the demolition of the Administration Building, which requires the creation of temporary office space and the relocation of utilities and tenants.

On Oct. 20, the Ross Plaza, located off East Monument Street, was closed to prepare for the placement of modular buildings that will house the office space. Steel to support the modular buildings and temporary construction fencing will be put in place this week. Demolition of the building is planned for mid-December.

Moving to the hospital's Jefferson Street Building will be the School of Medicine's Office of Admissions and the laboratory of Janice E. Clements, vice dean for faculty affairs at the School of Medicine. Most of the other administrative offices will be moved to the modular buildings.

The excavation work for the Broadway Research Building site is set to begin in February 2001.

The impacted loading dock facilities will be those that currently service Kennedy Krieger and the Traylor, Ross, Turner and Administration buildings. All of these facilities will be serviced by a single dock located on Rutland Avenue.

To accommodate the loading dock activities, Rutland Avenue will be closed from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, from Dec. 15 until the project is completed.

Grinnalds said clearly visible detour signs for pedestrians will be provided for safe movement through and around the construction site.

Likewise, vehicular detour route signs will be posted during the closings of Monument Street, from Friday, Nov. 17, to Sunday, Nov. 19; and of Broadway, between Monument and Madison streets, starting in January.

The school and Kennedy Krieger Institute have been working with the city for several months to work out details of all street closings.

Grinnalds said he understands that this level of construction will disrupt the routine of many students, staff, faculty and those living and working in the surrounding community.

"We want people to be patient and cooperative. We understand change is difficult," he said. "If they have specific issues, we need to know them, and we want to make sure they are aware of changes that may occur weekly or monthly as we go through various phases of this project."

Updates on the project and a Webcam view of the progress will be made available on a dedicated Web site currently being developed. Important information will appear periodically in The Gazette.

For questions regarding site logistics or pedestrian detours, contact Richard Sebour, assistant director of the Office of Facilities Management, at 410-614-9605.

For building-specific questions, contact Grinnalds, at 410-955-0880, or Michael Dausch, director of design and development, at 410-955-7382.