Dear Colleagues,
With the arrival of spring, the university is getting ready for a very busy construction period. Although most of us are still working from home, the folks in Facilities Management and Planning (FMP) are hard at work overseeing many projects that will make the campus look and feel very different this coming fall.
The city’s O-Train south extension that also impacts the section that runs through our campus, is in full swing with peak construction expected in 2021. The construction of a new pedestrian bridge over the Rideau River, connecting Carleton to Vincent Massey Park, has also started. The university will be addressing some of the main congestion points on University Drive by constructing a new roundabout and upgrading the Bronson Ave. intersection to include a double left-turn and upgrading the pedestrian and cyclist crossings to make the intersection safer.
We will also be completing major capital projects such as the Nicol Building (Sprott Business School), which will be move-in ready in June, and the new Engineering Design Centre is scheduled for completion in September. Along with the Nicol Building, the university will re-design the Campus Avenue Quad (between Nicol and Health Sciences) to create a flexible, multi-purpose gathering space that can host large events, small gatherings, and day-to-day use, as shown in Carleton’s Open Space Master Plan (OPMP). Also part of the OSMP, the outdoor amphitheater adjacent to Paterson Hall will be developed into an Indigenous Learning Place, designed in partnership and consultation with Carleton’s Indigenous stakeholders and Algonquin communities. The site is envisaged to be a flexible space that can accommodate outdoor teaching and learning.
Carleton will continue to work on its 10 year, $140-million building renewal program with projects to repair building envelopes, roofs, and building systems in Steacie, Herzberg and Southam Hall, along with comprehensive building condition assessments of the Loeb Building and Paterson Hall.
Overall, there will be lots of construction work done on campus this spring and summer that will bring about much needed improvements to our infrastructure and facilities.
Stay safe.
Michel