Tufts University is planning to build a major academic building over a new Green Line station in Medford in the next several years.
The school said last week that it had developed initial designs for a 100,000-square foot building of classrooms, lecture halls, offices, and shared space, one-third of which will be built over the MBTA's College Avenue station. The cost of the project wasn't yet settled, according to Kim Thurler, a Tufts spokeswoman.
Early conceptual images of the project depict a glass-walled complex with components soaring over a roadway and a Green Line entrance on the ground level. It will be funded by Bill Cummings, a real estate developer and Tufts benefactor, and other university sources. Tufts said it agreed to cover certain construction and planning costs for the complex.
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Although details were still being worked out, Tufts said the building would be meant as a home for its outward-reaching programs that could benefit from close access to public transit. The above-ground College Avenue station is projected to be the end of the line for the Green Line extension, to be completed in 2020. Thurler said the building would open sometime after that.
According to a university news release, Tufts has inked a 99-year lease with the MBTA and will let the transit authority build part of the station on its land at no cost. The university said it also agreed to pay the City of Medford $800,000 over several years.
Jack Newsham can be reached at jack.newsham@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheNewsHam.