Berklee College of Music is expanding westward with a new academic building next door to Fenway Park with facilities for dance and teaching.

Berklee formally announced the acquisition in a July 26 amendment to its two-year masterplan. The college already has a lease for the three story building at 1249 Boylston Street, hoping to convert it into new space for classes and programming.

“Berklee’s dance programs have seen significant growth, and the studios at 1249 Boylston will help Berklee meet demand for dance program space, replace current studios that are located away from the core campus, and improve the quality of Berklee’s dance education spaces,” said the college in its amendment filing.

Today the 54-foot building sits vacant. It was once used for retail on the ground floor, and the rest of the building served as office space for Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Brookline.

Repurposing the building will take a full renovation covering not just all three floors but the basement as well. Exteriors can remain the same, apart from some new signage.

That work will allow the building to accommodate classrooms and dance studios, plus offices and support spaces for those uses. Parking and loading will remain unchanged, taking place largely at the back of the building.

The college is also carving out 2,000 square feet of space on the ground floor for public retail uses, though at this point it hasn’t specified what that means beyond “a café, restaurant, gallery, or other similar use.”

It’s not yet clear whether the change will require the college to seek approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). The property does fall within a groundwater overlay district, which typically requires any work to also add rainwater reclamation infrastructure, but the exterior envelope of the building won’t be changed at all.

Berklee is currently negotiating with the Water and Sewer Commission, and if it can’t get an exemption, would try to work out a compliance strategy with the Commission and the Boston Groundwater Trust. If even that fails, it would be forced to appear before the ZBA and seek a zoning variance.

Berklee projects the renovation timeline to take under a year, wrapping up toward the end of 2025 if the college achieves its desired start date in the last quarter of 2024. Cost estimates currently put the budget at $15 million.

There will be a meeting of the Berklee College of Music Task Force on August 22 that will be open to the public if any residents want to give feedback. Interested parties can also submit written comment before the end of the public comment period on August 25.

“As one of the pre-eminent music degree-granting institutions in the world, it is critical for Berklee to continue to provide state-of-the-art classroom and learning spaces for its students, faculty, and notable visiting performers. By being able to offer new facilities at 1249 Boylston, Berklee can continue its mission of educating and training the next generation of the country’s leading musicians and music professionals,” wrote Berklee.