Over the summer months campus received numerous renovations, but not all have been completed by the expected date. Some of the completed and most noticeable changes include those made to the Concourse as well as a major makeover to the 24-Hour lounge.
However, there is still landscaping to be done around and in front of the Terrace food court, the final stage of the summer construction project implemented by Wilfrid Laurier University.
While the Concourse, Bookstore and OneCard office all had their renovations completed by September, what kept the Terrace landscaping from being completed in time for September was a wait on funding, according to Michael Welk, project coordinator for renovations and construction at physical resources.
Just as the landscaping around the Terrace is scheduled to be completed mid-November, the inside of the Terrace is also still in the process of renovation.
Most notably, the Union Market and Spring Rolls Go on the lower level and Ah So Sushi on the upper level are still under construction. Michael McMahon, general manager of the Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union, said he received an update from Aramark — the company that took over operations of the Terrace in June—that both projects should be completed soon.
“The city building inspectors are coming [Monday] and [Tuesday] to inspect the construction, so after that I can speculate that they then should be able to wrap up construction,” said McMahon.
Aramark is responsible for the Terrace construction after the company took over operation of the food court earlier this year. Both the Union Market and Spring Rolls Go are closed for the remainder of construction, while the other vendors in the food court remain open.
Soon to be the biggest construction project on campus is the new Global Innovation Exchange building — which is currently in its design stages — set to be built where St. Michael’s campus currently stands.
Both Welk and Mark Dettweiler, director of planning, design and construction at physical resources said that the demolition of St. Michael’s campus will begin later this month, with the construction fences going up later this week. According to Dettweiler, the building itself should be gone in two weeks.
“It takes time to empty the building, most of the work right now is preparing the building for demolition,” said Dettweiler. Once the building is empty and safe for demolition, only then the crews can move in and demolish the building.
More projects underway and beginning in the coming months include the relocation of the student recruitment offices, currently in Alumni Hall, to the Bricker Academic building as well as accessibility improvements to the loading dock area beside the Fred Nichols Campus Centre and Alumni Hall. The WLU Health and Safety offices are set to relocate to 232 King Street North, and Dettweiler mentioned that renovations will be underway to accommodate their move as well.
The Laurier International offices were also relocated to the fourth floor of the Doctor Alvin Woods Building, while the original offices were then renovated into classrooms.
“The first floor classrooms are actually bigger after the renovations than the fourth floor ones were,” said Dettweiler. “It works out better this way.”
Physical Resources, Sustainability office, Human Resources and Public Relations were all relocated to a newly renovated office space this summer, at 255 King Street.
