Four major construction projects add to campus bustle

Students returned to classes this fall amid a flurry of construction activity on campus. Long-planned projects, along with ones with shorter timelines, are all coming on-stream at once, adding to the usual back-to-class bustle.

Most of the activity is focused on the northeast area of campus. Adjacent to the Saunders Building, construction has started on the long-awaited technology transfer building to be operated by Discovery Parks Inc., which already operates multi-tenant technology transfer facilities at UBC and SFU. DPI is the operating arm of the Discovery Foundation, a not-for-profit, non-government organization supporting high-tech research and development in the province.

UVic will approve the tenants in the facility, which will benefit from its proximity to university researchers. The facility is also expected to provide new work opportunities for co-op students, as well as research and work opportunities for graduates and rental income for the university. The expected completion date is March 2003.

Across Ring Road the land behind the grass hockey field is being prepared for two new artificial turf playing fields. The warm-up track, first installed in 1992 for the 1994 Commonwealth Games, has been removed and the new field installation should be complete in November.

In its agreement with the Commonwealth Games Society, UVic was only required to maintain the warm-up track for two years after the close of the games. Since then there has been a steadily increasing demand by UVic students for field use. Often existing natural turf facilities are unavailable because of wet weather.

The artificial turf fields won’t be affected by the weather and will provide more playing time for students and allow for up to 2,000 more hours of use by community sports each year. There will be increased access to the Centennial Stadium track to help offset the loss of the warm-up facility.

Right next door, at Ring and Gabriola Roads, site preparation is also underway for the new continuing studies building. The 3,934 square-metre, three-storey structure will contain 16 classrooms, two computer-assisted language labs and office space that consolidates staff and facilities now scattered throughout the campus. Construction is scheduled to begin this November and the building will be open for students by January, 2004.

Construction crews have removed bush and relocated trees along Sinclair Road on the site of new cluster housing units. Five buildings containing 29 four-bedroom units will be built in the same style as the existing cluster housing. The units should be available to students in late August, 2003. This project is part of the Housing 2004 initiative to increase available residence space on campus by about 600 beds by 2004.