The construction of a new building at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management is on schedule and the structure will be occupancy ready by the end of next summer, Assistant to the Heller Dean Jerry Boren said.The new Schneider Building, made possible by a $15 million gift from Irving Schneider and smaller donations from others, will provide approximately 34,000 square feet of space for classrooms, offices and other space, according to the Office of Capital Projects Web site.

Boren said the Heller School's enrollment has grown dramatically in recent years and the new space will help accommodate that demand.

"We're looking forward with great anticipation to having better space," Boren said. "We've had a tremendous growth in our student population over the last five years, and we're just bursting at the seams."

Boren said the current Heller school only has four classrooms, and that much of the Heller faculty, including himself, has off campus offices on Turner Street. He said the new building will include five larger classrooms, three amphitheaters and study areas for students.

"It will mean an incredible upgrade in the quality and capacity of our classrooms," Boren said. "It's just going to be a major, major upgrade."

Associate Vice President for Planning, Design and Construction Dan Feldman said small proportion of funding not provided by Schneider came from various gifts as well as a federal grant.

Bond Brothers, Inc. is handling the construction, which began at a groundbreaking ceremony on May 26. Excavation is still in process, but both Feldman and Boren were confident that there should be no delays.

"The project has gone pretty much as we had expected it to," Feldman said.

Boren also said Bond Brothers repaved the entire sidewalk near the current building in time for the academic year. Once the Schneider building is completed, Borne said, the current building will need to be renovated.