Suffolk University plans to break ground for a new academic building on Thursday.

The building at 20 Somerset St., designed by NBBJ architects, will provide a new academic home for Suffolk students and provide technology-enhanced instructional space for science and general study. The project was developed with input from neighbors and city officials.

Eight floors of the 10-story building will hold flexible classrooms designed to support active learning. Four floors of classrooms will be dedicated to teaching science. Classrooms will include electronic whiteboards and active learning pods.

The glass-studded building will open onto a renovated Roemer Plaza, which will provide green space and outdoor seating areas and serve as the university’s first "quad." Classroom space will be moved from the Temple Street area and consolidated in the Somerset Street building.

The building is being constructed on the site of the former Metropolitan District Commission headquarters, which had become dilapidated after years of disuse and was carefully removed over the course of several months.