Excavation on the site is expected to begin in September, and construction should last 27 months, making the building ready for occupancy in 2011, according to Matthew Purcell, associate director of construction.
"Everyone is just so thrilled that we're going to be able to get this project going," assistant Provost Mary Gorman said. "In three years, the students and faculty will be moving into that building, and that was the best news I got last week."
Wes Chapman, president of the OPNA, called the College last week as a courtesy to say that the Association would not be filing an appeal to the state Supreme Court.
"The neighborhood association obviously was heard in the Superior Court," Gorman said. "They're letting it stand at that."
Chapman declined to comment about OPNA's decision.
The Superior Court denied the Occom Pond Neighborhood Association's appeal of two town of Hanover decisions that had approved the College's construction plans. These appeals, filed last November, alleged that the construction had been approved without adequate consideration of the building's effects on the neighborhood.
The town's now-defeated appeals stipulated that the building had been improperly classified as an educational building by the Hanover Zoning Board. The Life Sciences Center, which will house the biology department, will be located in an "institutional zone." Labeling the center as an educational building allowed construction plans to move forward without the review required for a building that is classified as a research laboratory.
The College does not expect any further construction delays, according to Gorman and Purcell
"We have met continuously throughout the process with the building and zoning office and the building inspector," Purcell said. "We shouldn't have any surprises."
The College has obtained the necessary permits to do the site work, Purcell said, although it will need to obtain a new temporary controls permit because of changed construction plans. The College has separated the building permit into two phases: the foundation permit and the building permit. The College has already filed for a permit to lay the foundations of the buildings and should begin excavating the site in September, Purcell said.
The application for the building permit was likely filed last week and will either be approved or denied within 60 days of the filing date, Purcell said, adding that he was unsure of the exact filing date because he has been away from Dartmouth.
If the plans meet all building codes, according to Purcell, then the town should grant the permit.
The need for the College to obtain additional permits could offer an opportunity for further legal challenges, College associate general counsel Ellen Arnold said, although the College does not expect any further action.
None of the project's vertical construction will begin until spring, Purcell said.
Barry Schuster, the OPNA's attorney, did not return requests for comment by press time.