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New college dormitories rise quietly

By Paul Leighton
Staff writer
Published: December 3, 2008

BEVERLY — The new dormitories at Montserrat College of Art are going up this week without a hammer or nail in sight.

The college has been trucking in the pieces of its new dorms on wide-load trailers and stacking them up like Legos with a giant crane.

The modular dorms were built at the manufacturer in Concord, N.H., and have been stored in recent weeks on the vacant McKay School property on McKay Street and the former Infiniti dealership on Rantoul Street.

Lee Dellicker of Windover, the project's construction management company, said the modular-style concept is environmentally friendly and reduces the impact on the neighborhood.

"We would be out there hammering and nailing for months," he said. "Now, in a matter of seven days, the buildings are up and it's quiet."

The $8 million project will include four buildings with rooms for 78 students, as well as gallery space and an arts center. The buildings — one four-story, two three-stories and one two-story — will be connected by glass-and-steel enclosures.

The dorms, across from the main Montserrat College building and from the Beverly Public Library, will open in August.

One of the wide-load trailers carrying the modular pieces struck a parked car at the corner of Rantoul and Pond streets yesterday morning. Police described the accident as a "minor fender bender."

The construction of the dormitories can be watched on a live Webcam at the college's Web site, www.montserrat.edu.

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