The board of trustees has approved a science center project that will also transform the east campus with new dorms and a landscaped walkway.
![Demolition of Davis Dorm](/system/files/media/Amh_w14_14946_0.jpg)
The science center will be on the east campus, on the site of the current Social Dorms. One of those dorms, Davis, has already been demolished.
![Three students in biology lab](/system/files/media/Amh_w14_15013.jpg)
“The facility will ensure that, among liberal arts colleges, Amherst remains a leader in undergraduate science,” according to a statement from the board of trustees.
![Illustration of person walking](/system/files/media/Pohl%20AmherstWinterFinal.jpg)
![Prefabricated dorms, Waldor and Plaza](/system/files/media/Amh_w14_14948_0.jpg)
New residence halls will be constructed where the temporary, prefabricated dorms Waldorf and Plaza are now located.
![Merrill and McGuire science buildings](/system/files/media/Amh_w14_14949_0.jpg)
The existing science buildings, Merrill and McGuire, will remain and be developed for other uses.
![Chart showing changes in cost estimates to science center](/system/files/media/science-center-graphic.jpg)
The current cost estimate is $214 million for the science center. This compares to $270 million for the previous plan, which was abandoned last spring after concerns about cost and disruption. The estimate for the new dorms is $60 million. (The dorms would have been needed under any scenario, because the Social Dorms are at the end of their useful lives.)