Carleton College is about to begin construction on an expansion of the Weitz Center for Creativity that will provide new teaching, rehearsal, and performance space primarily for the College’s Music department. The expanded facility will include a 400-seat performance hall and smaller recital hall, teaching studios, faculty offices, and student practice rooms. As with almost all College events, performances in the new spaces will be open to the entire community, as we welcome the opportunity to share work by student artists and guest artists with our neighbors.
We understand that the construction process will be a disruption in the neighborhood, and will be doing all we can to minimize disruption and to keep neighbors informed of the process. McGough Construction, which handled the build of the original phase of the Weitz Center, will again be our general contractor. McGough’s familiarity with the College and surrounding neighborhood will hopefully contribute to a smooth process.
Carleton officials will be on hand Tuesday, April 26 from noon to 1 p.m. at the Weitz Center, Room 136, to answer questions about the construction process. A light lunch will be available.
If you have questions or concerns at any time during the construction process, please contact us.
Construction start date: Monday, May 2
Beginning May 2
- Construction fence to go up around site.
- Excavation will begin.
- We have received permission from the City of Northfield to create a construction entrance along the north side of Fourth Street for construction access. The bike lane on the north side of Fourth will be closed. This is to minimize disruption from trucks backing up.
- We have also received a temporary easement on the park side for construction access. Sidewalk on the east of the property will be closed during the project. Sidewalk will be replaced and reopened at the completion of construction.
- Carleton is working with the City to relocate a city owned water main. This work pushes further east into Central Park by about 20 feet. Existing trees will be relocated in the park as directed by the City. New additional trees will be planted at the completion of this work along the west edge of the park.
- South lawn of Weitz Center (4th Street side) to be used for construction staging area.
- The delivery entrance on Fourth Street will be closed as of May 2. During the construction, deliveries must be re-routed to the entrances on Third Street.
- Work schedule: The typical construction work day will run from 7:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., Monday – Friday. This schedule may be subject to change depending on weather conditions and construction schedule.
- The building will be completed and open in September 2017.
For additional information about the Weitz project, see the FAQ Page and the Plans and Construction Documents.