New York University will break ground later this year on a 12-story building in downtown Washington (left) that will include five floors of dormitory suites as well as academic space and offices for university lobbyists.

The 75,000-square-foot building, at 13th and L Streets N.W., will house a Washington-semester program for students studying politics, economics, journalism, art history, and history, according to an article in Washington Square News, the university's student newspaper. Lecture halls, seminar rooms, and offices will fill the lower floors.

The building was designed by Hickok Cole Architects to fit a 60-foot-wide lot just a few blocks north and east of the White House.

The lobby of New York U.'s new Washington home will feature a map of the city in one wall. (Hickok Cole Architects renderings)

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Lesley University has gotten praise from The Chronicle and other publications in the past for its willingness to work with neighbors to avoid conflict. But it seems conflict could not be averted in one of its most recent town-gown deals: The Boston Globe reports that a group of neighbors are suing Lesley over plans to move a 165-year-old church and relocate the Art Institute of Boston to its site. The Art Institute is part of Lesley.

University officials say the move would help revitalize the neighborhood and preserve the church building, which would be transformed into a library. But a lawyer for the neighbors calls the plans a "a classic case of spot zoning, which the courts in numerous cases have held as illegal," and he charges that the Cambridge City Council has made zoning laws more lenient to help Lesley.

Mike Murray, a lawyer for Lesley, said that the university and the city he...

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The Globe and Mail reports that the family of a Canadian sculptor, Haydn Davies, and the Lambton College of Applied Arts and Technology have settled a $1.2-million lawsuit over the destruction of one of the artist's most famous works. Davies's monumental scuplture Homage, made of laminated western red cedar, was razed in 2005.

Details of the settlement were not available, but The Globe and Mail reports that the settlement will result in an annual cash award for one sculpture student from the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto, where Davies studied in the 1940s. The lawsuit has also inspired a play, which is set to open in Toronto in June.

At the time of its destruction, Homage was deemed structurally unsafe by college officials. Animals like raccoons and hornets had taken up residence in the holes in the artwork, according to reports at the time. However, fans of the...

The Tallahassee Democrat reports that leaders of Florida colleges are worried that Gov. Charlie Crist will strike money for their building projects out of the state budget. The governor, a Republican, wants to direct more money to transportation projects. He must sign the budget by Saturday.

"This governor has been incredibly supportive of higher education, but everyone gets nervous during the veto portion of the process for these projects," said Frank T. Brogan, chancellor of the Board of Governors, which oversees the colleges. "It is our hope that he will see his way clear to support as many of these projects as he possibly can."

The paper mentions two institutions in particular: Florida State University and Florida A&M University. Florida A&M is planning to construct a $23-million College of Pharmacy building; the university's president, James H. Ammons, met with the governor's...

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Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pa.

Building Type: Science

Construction Type: Renovation

Cost: $6.5-million

Square Footage: 16,000

Architect: Richard W. Thom

Contractor: Wolfe Scott Associates Inc.

Opened: 2009

This project renovated the science center's 50-year-old, three-floor Biological Science Wing to accommodate new teaching methods and update teaching and research labs, offices for faculty members, and the building's systems.

(Photos: Richard W. Thom)

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