A project notification form WPI submitted to the state historical commission last month says the new building would contain classrooms, faculty offices, research and meeting space, and administrative offices.

WORCESTER - Worcester Polytechnic Institute plans to construct a new five-story academic building on campus, according to public records.

The proposed facility would be located on an empty hill south of the George C. Gordon Library next to Boynton Street, a letter from the Massachusetts Historical Commission reads.

The university is scheduled to break ground on the project this fall. A capital projects timeline on WPI’s website indicates construction is expected to be completed by Aug. 31, 2021.

The new center is coming quickly after WPI just finished its last major construction project, the Foisie Innovation Studio and Messenger Hall. That five-story, combined academic center and dormitory, which cost $49 million, opened last summer.

According to Worcester’s planning and regulatory services division, WPI had not filed any applications for the Boynton Street project yet as of Thursday afternoon.

A project notification form WPI submitted to the state historical commission last month says the new building, planned to be about 100,000 square feet, would contain classrooms, faculty offices, research and meeting space, and administrative offices.

According to the form, the "design of the new building will harmonize with other structures constructed on the main campus in recent years." Renderings of the facility reveal it would look similar to the Foisie Innovation Studio.

The form doesn’t indicate the budget for the project, but says WPI would be financing it through MassDevelopment. Kelsey Schiller, the deputy communications director for the agency, said she couldn’t discuss financing details for the project this past week, but a public hearing notice for the project held by MassDevelopment earlier this month indicated the bond being sought for it would be capped at $85 million.

In a statement, WPI’s Vice President for Campus Planning and Facilities Management Eric Beattie said the new building will be known as "Smart World" and that the university "look(s) forward to sharing more details about this exciting addition in the coming months."

Scott O’Connell can be reached at Scott.O’Connell@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @ScottOConnellTG