The SLC/PAC expansion, a 63,000 square foot addition to the current Student Life Centre has been delayed again.
Over the past two years, the timeline has changed multiple times since the construction phase of the SLC/PAC expansion project began on June 19, 2017.
“The expectation is for winter 2020, that’s the projected timeline but we do have a website where you can have running updates on that,” Seneca Velling, Vice President of Operations and Finance at WUSA, formerly Feds, said.
“Regular construction status report updates are given to the building and properties committee of the board of governors and available at the secretariat’s website if you just look at the agendas.”
The earlier date for completion was set to Fall 2019 but has been pushed to Winter 2020.
Velling said changes to the actual scope of the project, unforeseen weather conditions, and suspending work while the university used the grounds for convocation all contributed to the delay.
“Things slow down a little bit because we need to use the building,” Velling said.
“One of the prerequisites to the current construction project was that it has to work around the students and they need the SLC to come in for all sorts of things.
That’s definitely contributed to the delays but generally for contracts of this scale, these kind of delays are fairly common and things have moved along well.”
Since construction began, there have been many closures of spaces on campus, including Brubakers Kitchen, which recently reopened.
“Nobody likes being in and around a construction site — believe me, my office is right next to it — but when I look at the long run, I see great benefits to the students from the space,” Velling said. “I feel pretty comfortable that it’s worth it as the costs aren’t being paid by the current students.”
The Expansion will result in 14 more bookable multipurpose rooms, 345 additional dining seats, 4,500 square feet of social space, 11,000 square feet of fitness space, multi-faith prayer space for 100 people with lockers and cleansing amenities, 3,000 square feet of recreational studio space, and a link between the third floor of SLC and MC.
“There is a public consultation for a new physics building and there’s going to be an astrophysics centre built there and that’s going to be great for research for Waterloo,” Velling said.
