Photo courtesy of Richard Saltz
Where there used to be a vast green landscape full of tall grass and trees, there are now piles of dirt and wandering gigantic vehicles behind the iconic Paul Mellon Arts Center. Although it may seem as though it has stayed that way for weeks, leading the students and faculty members who frequently pass by the building to become slightly impatient, the highly anticipated 51,000-square-foot Colony Hall — the magnificent complement to the Paul Mellon Arts Center — will soon be erected. Mr. Rick Saltz, the Chief Financial Officer, is happy to report that construction is proceeding just as planned.
Currently, school meetings cannot hold the entire student body. Colony Hall, planned to officially open in the fall of 2019, will rectify this problem. The brand new complex will allow Choate’s arts programs to expand and improve. Although construction has been ramping up in the past few weeks, it has not been a disturbance according to those who use the Paul Mellon Arts Center to practice music, work on projects, or attend rehearsals or lessons.
Tony Zhou ’21 said, “I practice the piano in the PMAC for hours almost every day. Each time I walk past the construction site, I wonder what it would feel like to finally practice in Colony Hall.”
Mr. Saltz said, “We are in the beginning stage, putting up and reinforcing the rear wall of the building. Next week, steel structures will start to be delivered and installed over the next couple of months through the summer. Then concrete sides, called pre-casts, will be put up, and by the end of September, the building should be weather-tight so that we can start working on the inside.
He went on, “It will open a little bit over a year from now. “It gets exciting when the building starts to take shape and you can really see the structure of the building, but it gets very quiet for a while because everything happens on the inside, so you wonder what’s going on. Between now and September, you will really see the building take form.”
According to Mr. Saltz, construction has so far not suffered any major setbacks. “The biggest setback was the weather this winter,” he said. “As soon as we started, we had some really cold days — a little bit more snow than we expected.” He added, “Also, going into the hill, the rock was softer, so we just chose to dig it out. Nothing unexpected has happened up till this point.”
Mr. Saltz also proudly mentioned that Colony Hall will be rated Leed-Gold, just like Lanphier Center and St. John Hall. It will include geothermal wells and solar panels to maintain and promote the sustainability efforts of the school.
The building, once completed, will benefit the entire Choate community. Not only will the spacious auditorium be able to accommodate various gatherings and performances, but the new practice rooms and studios will allow students to hone their artistic talents more sharply than before.
