The College of the Holy Cross: Hart Center Expansion

The College of the Holy Cross

IMAGES COURTESY OF SASAKI

The phased expansion of the Hart Athletic Center at the top of Mount Saint James on the campus of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, was completed in December 2017. Eight distinct implementation phases allowed the college to maintain use of the building throughout construction.

The visible and transparent complex will provide a comprehensive complement of facilities, including strength and conditioning, sport medicine, and practice venues, aimed at improving performance, increasing awareness, and supporting all of the Crusaders’ Division 1 programs.

The college’s primary goal for the project was to elevate facilities for all programs to help recruiting and improve the development opportunities for student athletes.

The new 143,000-square-foot addition includes a 60-foot-high indoor turf practice facility, an auxiliary practice gymnasium, suites for basketball and administration offices, a dynamic strength and conditioning center, various meeting rooms, a new main entrance lobby, and new locker rooms, to ensure that all programs have dedicated team rooms.

The renovations will provide additional offices, a rowing studio, a new sport medicine suite, expanded accommodations for equipment handling, and a new locker room for the women’s ice hockey program, which is also now competing in Division 1.

The design, by Sasaki, completely transforms the original 1975 building, giving it a greater presence on campus and a renewed pride in the storied history of Holy Cross athletics.

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management June 2019 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Phoenix School District Breaks Ground on New Prep Academy

    The Creighton Elementary School District near Phoenix, Ariz., recently broke ground on a campus replacement for Biltmore Preparatory Academy, according to a news release. The new space will allow the school to expand its enrollment by 50 percent for K–8 students and accommodate modern, collaborative learning styles.

  • S4L Announces 2026 Education Design Showcase Winners

    Spaces4Learning is thrilled to announce the winners of the 2026 Education Design Showcase! Now in its 27th year, the annual awards program honors innovative solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction across K–12 and higher education.

  • Arizona District Breaks Ground on Community Training, Learning Center

    The Tolleson Union High School District (TUHSD) in Tolleson, Ariz., recently broke ground on a new Training & Learning Center (TLC) for both district professionals and the community at large, according to a news release. The 90,000-square-foot facility has an estimated completion date of spring 2027.

  • Architectural Power for the Modern Campus Landscape

    For generations, an outdoor classroom only required a textbook and a patch of grass. Today, not only has the laptop replaced the printed pages, the rise of agile learning has turned campuses into study halls with students listening to lectures and researching topics from quads, gardens, and plazas. The challenge for architects and facility managers is to provide connectivity without cluttering the landscape with visual eyesores or creating safety hazards with extension cords.