Faculty and staff have finally been given the go-ahead to begin moving into the new Lazaridis Hall building.
Though this is not the first opening date planned for the building, this is the first instance where university staff and faculty have been told to begin packing up their belongings for the move.
“We’re hearing that the faculty move should take place either end of June or early July,” said Micheál Kelly, dean of the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics. “My understanding is they’re just waiting for the occupancy unit.”
The building, which will be the future home of the Lazaridis school of business and economics, as well as Laurier’s department of mathematics, will have faculty and administration move in over the spring term, with classes currently slated for students this coming September.
The news follows a scramble by the university last fall when all classes scheduled in Lazaridis Hall for the winter term had to be quickly relocated when the building’s opening was delayed.
Despite this, the hope is that students will be impressed with the eventual reveal.
“Student space will be phenomenal in the new building. I think students are going to be proud of what they see,” said Kelly.
“The quality of the building and the space they have and the teaching space and the financial labs—it’s going to be a great facility.”
Though the offices and most classrooms are slotted for a September opening, the facility’s largest auditorium will still be under construction at that time. Additionally, there are no confirmed completion dates for other facilities in the building, such as the first-floor café.
“We’ve been waiting a long time for this to happen,” said Kelly. “We’re really excited about moving in and we think it’s going to cap off a great year for the school.”