On June 19, Carleton broke ground for construction of the Nicol Building, the new home of the Sprott School of Business.
The six-storey building—named after Wesley Nicol, a late Sprott alumnus—will house more than 2,200 business students. The building will replace the parking lot facing the University Centre.
Wesley Nicol, who passed away in 2016, was an entrepreneur, lawyer and member of the Order of Canada.
Jerry Tomberlin, interim provost and vice-president (academic), said Wesley Nicol was the real visionary behind the new building. He added that it was a long time coming.
“I thank everyone who had this vision for the new school alive for the past 10 years, including not just my colleagues, but all the business and architecture students who designed 16 different designs for two separate locations that would never be built,” he said. “They were the ones that provided ideas and helped form the vision for this building.”
Other members spearheading the project, who wore helmets and held shovels, joined Tomberlin to break the first ground for the project.
Christopher Carruthers, the chairperson of Carleton’s Board of Governors (BoG), said the BoG was very excited about the new project, and he thanked the Nicol family for their generosity.
“Although this project is self-financed by the university, it would not have been possible without the very generous support of Mary Nicol and the late Wes Nicol, one of our Carleton alumni,” Carruthers said of the $10-million donation by the Nicol family in 2014 that kickstarted the funding for the building.
The new building will shine a light on Sprott like the old location at Dunton Tower never could, he added.
But Bruce Nicol, the son of late Wesley Nicol who represented the Nicol family at the procession, said he did not think the donation was enough to fund the whole effort.
“I’m really impressed at how fast it all happened,” Bruce Nicol said. “It was a very generous gift as we have all heard, but it might build a floor [and] maybe a few elevators.”
Hanna Di Virgilio, the president of the Sprott Business Students’ Society (SBSS), was also at the ceremony, and spoke to the crowd on behalf of the Sprott students.
“Dunton Tower has been good to us, and although I’ll miss those elevators, I am more than happy for Sprott to be receiving a new home,” she said. “I imagine all of Sprott’s greatest features being bundled up in this new place we call home.”
Di Virgilio added that the Nicol Building will provide Sprott students with a space to collaborate better as they bump into professors on their way to class or while waiting in line for coffee. She also said the Nicol Building will be the new home of the SBSS.
According to Linda Schweitzer, interim dean of the Sprott School of Business, the new building will not only be a home to Sprott students, but will open its doors to students from other faculties due to its innovative design.
Interim president, Alastair Summerlee, said in email that he was especially excited about the design of the new building, produced by Hariri Pontarini Architects.
“The Nicol Building will be a signature building on campus,” he said. “As a significant architectural addition in the centre of campus, it will provide outstanding modern teaching and learning facilities for students from all faculties.”
According to Tomberlin, the Nicol Building “will also serve as a kind of front door for Carleton community members.”
“For many, it will be the entrance for O-train commuters,” he added.
The new building will be located on Campus Avenue between the Architecture Building and the new Health Sciences Building.
Construction begins this summer.
Photo by Temur Durrani
