Married Students' Housing Complex May Be Finished Ahead of Schedule

For what may be the first time in the history of the University, a Harvard building is ahead of its construction schedule.

The mammoth Married Student Dormitories, originally scheduled for completion in September of 1964, will probably be finished by mid-July. In fact, 60 apartments will be ready for occupancy by January 15, eight months ahead of schedule.

And not only will the apartments be ready, but the contractors also promise to have sidewalks, now a sea of mud, paved, and trees planted around the completed buildings.

"This just isn't normal," one University official muttered. "Most of our buildings are several months late, and this is the first one that's ever been ahead of schedule, to my knowledge."

The Vappi Construction Co., Inc., the builders of the dormitories, credit their record-breaking speed to good weather, good working conditions, and "good architectural planning" by the firm of Sert, Jackson, and Gourley, which designed the complex.

Antiseptic White

At the site of the dormitories--beyond Dunster House on Memorial Drive--workmen were busy yesterday adding the next-to-final touches to apartments scheduled to open in January. Antiseptic white paint was being applied to the walls, and shutters were being painted fire-engine red.

Then there were the doors. "We got green doors, red doors, blue doors, yellow doors," said a foreman. "You know Sert's ideas about color."

Eventually the center's six buildings will house a nursery, a 350-car garage, a laundry, and a few shops as well as 499 apartments. The suites, which range from one-room efficiency units to three-bedroom apartments, will probably rent for $35 to $170 a month. Each is equipped with a refrigerator and a stove.