The River Building is the latest Carleton construction project set to be completed later than originally scheduled, following the Lennox and Addington residence and the Canal Building.
The River Building and new residence were originally slated to be finished by September 2011. The residence is now expected to be completed by Oct. 28, and the River Building by November 2011, according to president Roseann Runte.
Classes may be scheduled in the River Building in January, or possibly next September, Runte said.
Construction on the Canal Building was originally scheduled to end in December 2010. An opening ceremony was held in January 2011, but classes were not scheduled in the building for another nine months.
The building, which houses biomedical, energy, environmental and aerospace engineering students, was not adequately completed for student use until September, Runte said.
In the meantime, Lennox and Addington residents are living doubled up with daily construction starting at 7 a.m. They are being given a partial refund of their residence costs to compensate for the difficulties.
As for the students from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, the School of Journalism and the School of Public Policy, who were hoping to begin classes in the River Building in September, they’re still waiting.
For some Lennox and Addington residents, the difficulties are bearable since they find the chance to live in the newest residence worth dealing with the inconveniences.
The River Building delay isn’t a major inconvenience, said second-year journalism student Megan Brush, but she is unhappy with the situation as a whole.
“It’s a little bit of a letdown because we were told it would be done, but unfortunately, I think most of us expected it to take longer,” she said. “I think all of the construction on campus is very frustrating as a student.”
For some engineering students, not being able to use the Canal Building is more frustrating, according to third-year aerospace engineering student Cameron Reid.
Some engineering students who haven’t been able to use the Canal Building yet have expressed greater frustration with the delays, and an urgent need for the new space.
“A lot of [professors] have a hard time finding available rooms for midterms, to the point where they end up getting cancelled,” he said. “It might sound nice, but usually it means a heavily weighted exam.”
The lack of space is also an issue for Felicia Cristofaro, a mechanical engineering student, who commented on the need for a new facility.
“We have classes of over 100 in these old classrooms where the technology hasn’t been updated for us. You have to fight for seats because the rooms are always packed in the older buildings,” Cristofaro said.
The school will break ground on two more projects this fall, according to statements released by the university, adding MacOdrum Library and Robertson Hall to the list of buildings under construction. Construction on Robertson Hall began this month and is scheduled to be finished in November.
Construction on the library is expected to begin in mid-October, according to associate university librarian Valerie Critchley.
While “unexpected difficulties” are possible, she said she trusts construction and library workers to minimize the impact on students.
The River Building was originally slated to open this month, but it’s not complete either.
(Photo by: Carol Kan)
