UMass-Boston proposes transformation of campus

BOSTON -- Officials at the University of Massachusetts-Boston are presenting a plan to transform the commuter school into a more traditional campus.

A preliminary proposal being presented to the UMass Board of Trustees Friday would include construction of the school's first dormitories, an idea that in the past has met from opposition from residents of Boston's Dorchester neighborhood.

The first phase of the plan calls for spending $750 million over the next decade to build three new academic buildings, two dormitories and an above-ground parking garage at the waterfront campus.

Grassy areas and pedestrian walkways also would be added to make the school feel more like a typical college campus.

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