The completion date of construction in the Student Life Centre has been pushed to Spring 2019.
The SLC/PAC expansion has been underway for almost a year and aims to improve student experiences at the University of Waterloo (UW).
According to the website a shift in schedules has caused officials to push the expected completion date toward the end of the spring term of 2019.
The shift is because of poor soil, bad weather, variations in the contract scope of work, and other unforeseen conditions.
While the final costs of the expansion will be higher, the $18 per term student fee will remain the same.
The fee will not start until the expansion is completely operational and the PAC fitness centre upgrade is completed.
The project started in mid-2017 with a completion date in the Fall 2018 semester.
A Council of Ontario Universities university space assessment in 2014 report stated that UW was lacking study space, athletic/recreation space, assembly space, and student activity space when compared to other Ontario universities.
The current expansion seeks to give students the space they need to gather, study and get active.
The expansion will include 345 additional dining seats, combining fixed and flexible seating, and additional food outlets.
The expansion will also include a 4500 square-foot lounge featuring couches, chairs, low tables, and recreation tables, such as pool and foosball tables.
Graduate students will have a 40-seat lounge. The space will have an event room, able to seat 150 people comfortably and a multi-faith room, situated in a Qibla orientation, that will be open 24 hours a day for students to practice their faith. Two fitness studios, separated by a flexible wall to create one large room, rock-climbing, and a significant expansion to PAC fitness centre will be added.
The athletic expansion is 11000 square-feet spread over two floors with cardio machines, free weights, additional workout equipment, and a large reception area to improve visitor access and traffic. Further delays are possible because it is impossible to predict bad weather or soil conditions.
To stay up to date on current and further disruptions, students can visit https://uwaterloo.ca/associate-provost-students/slcpac-expansion-project/frequently-asked-questions.
The campus map (uwaterloo.ca/map) will be regularly updated to reflect changes to the paths to help students manoeuvre around the construction.
