Construction has begun on a new Leon Street building that will house the university's John D. O'Bryant African-American Institute as well as dorm rooms, classrooms, and a lecture hall.

Currently dubbed Building F, the glass-and-stone structure is set to open in September 2006. It is being built around the existing African-American Institute, which will stand until the new building is ready for occupancy.

After the existing building is demolished, its site will serve as a memorial to O'Bryant, the university's first African-American vice president and former Boston School Committee member. The institute was named for the late administrator in 1992.

Planned since 2000, construction on the new building was delayed when some members of the university's African-American community protested the demolition of an institute that had stood for more than twenty years. Initial proposals called for moving the institute to Columbus Place, Forsyth Street, or the current site of the Behrakis Health Sciences Center.

Following the protests, President Freeland established a committee that developed the plan to locate the institute in the new building.

In addition to housing the institute, Building F will also have eight general-use classrooms, a 270-seat lecture hall, and 230 beds for students.

The building's December groundbreaking featured Boston mayor Thomas Menino and Boston Redevelopment Authority director Mark Malone. Several members of the O'Bryant family were also on hand, including O'Bryant's son Richard, now a Northeastern assistant professor of political science, and his widow, Cicely O'Bryant.

Said institute dean Lula Petty-Edwards at the groundbreaking, "I hope that the legacy and spirit of the current building and its incredible history and contributions will be honored as they are transferred to the new facility."

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