After an alteration in the original deadline of August 15, the Wilfrid Laurier University Athletic Complex (AC) expansion now continues toward its current deadline of late August to early September.
However, following the major storm on July 19 that caused damage to large parts of the Waterloo Region and left some without power, the construction was not affected.
“I wasn’t informed of any problems, everything’s been fine,” said Patricia Kitchen, associate director of recreation and facilities at Laurier said.
“We’re pretty much airtight now anyways, there might have been some water coming in the walls but nothing of issue.”
According to Kitchen, construction in the summer has been progressing as scheduled.
“We’re making lots of progress. They’re starting to do the painting, drywall is almost done on the second floor, there’s going to be a feature stair from the first to second floor, which is currently being installed and most of the framing is done,” said Kitchen. “There’s some challenges that you anticipate with construction, but things are moving along.”
However, in terms of meeting the original deadline, which was set for August 15, Kitchen said that this might be a little fluid.
“Our intent is that we will be opening if not by [orientation week], but the following week,” she said. “We’ll be taking occupancy before that, but we need time for equipment deliveries and to get everything operational.”
Although the deadline is later than anticipated, Kitchen assured that this was only due to the challenging winter and spring months, which saw lots of rain and melting snow that caused for delays.
In the early months of spring, there were issues with the outside plumbing when the steel was being laid down and minor leakage in the framing, which caused a minor delay in the construction.
“We have lost some days over the course of the project, but we haven’t had any lost days since probably mid-May. Weather hasn’t been an issue at all as of late.”
The temporary fitness centre will continue to function out of the multipurpose classrooms in the hallway across from the swimming pool viewing area until the end of August at the earliest, but the entire complex is set to be done by orientation week, so new and returning students will have full access to the new facility.
“We’re really looking forward to it, it’s going to be a great space with some unique features to it,” Kitchen said, “We fully expect that when we open the doors it’s going to be busy, and we hope that all students take the opportunity to use it.”