UPEI SCHEDULED FOR NEW FACILITIES/IMPROVEMENTS

With a much needed infu- sion of funds and a little patience, the UPEI campus is looking to get a little bigger as well as undergo some much needed face-lifts on some of the buildings. This long- term project seems to be aimed at not only addressing some concerns over some of the facilities on cam- pus, but also seeks to ensure that the campus is up-to-date and can meet the needs of its growing stu- dent population. This is the good news. The bad news unfortunately is that to complete such a project requires a large timeframe meaning that many students will not be around as undergrads to enjoy the new or improved _ facilities. However, such is the way with such plans of action, and as any student is all too painfully aware money doesn’t grow on trees. At least not the $73,500,000 allotted for all the planned projects.

Perhaps one of the most exciting parts of this plan is the building of a new residence building on campus. Residences have been a source of complaints from stu- dents for some time now, and a new building will hopefully make on- campus living more comfortable for the percentage of the population that calls the facilities home for the duration of the academic year. Construction of the new building is expected to begin in May 2004 and hopefully wrap around August

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2005. It well add 100 beds to the campus, and will also replace the extremely decrepit Marion Hall, which only offers 50 beds in total. Self-financing for the project will come from within the residence operations. Perhaps as a token of good will, the new residence should be built within crawling distance from the

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Hall ' Blanchard Hall will Z

residences. Repairs and upgrades :

including repairs and upgrades to the bathroom facilities, the floors in Blanchard Halls and a general refurnishing are only a few of the changes and improvements to be made. The Residence populations are composed mostly of first year students, and having new and improved living quarters certainly couldn’t hurt their view of the cam-

pus and their futures here.

A trend in the project seems to be upgrading the universities sci- ence-related facilities considerably as well as allowing for more scien- tific research and development to occur. The Duffy Science building will undergo a major development, and there will be research facilities added to _bet- ter enable the ..study of the field of bio- Bactive com- pounds. The upgrades will hopefully be

new

the new INH NRC Research Building, will be construct- ed on campus, ‘and be owned by the university with space to be leased to the National Research Council. The dates for this project are the same as the Duffy improve- ments, with construction beginning in July 2004 and going to August 2005.

The Atlantic Veterinary College will be undergoing an expansion and general renovation, something that stands to be a wor-

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thy investment seeing as how the AVC is one of the better known aspects of UPEI. This is one of many longer-term projects, with the upgrades hopefully being complet- ed by March 2008. The Kelley Building will get its long-awaited second phase of renovation, sched- uled to be completed in July 2007. Finally, there will be a general upgrading and renewal of services and facilities (roof repair, road repair, and the like) around the campus, as well as a move to bring about new and enhanced general research space. Both of these proj- ects are scheduled to begin in May 2004 and go until about Aug 2008.

Though the VP Finance & facilities Gary Bradshaw could not be reached for comment, the pro- jected plans pretty much speak for themselves. They show _ that although it may take awhile, many concerns are being addressed and a move to increase the general attractiveness of the institution as a whole are being made. Hats off to all the people who are working to help the University of Prince Edward Island become an institu- tion that will attract more and more people, and thus enable it to grow even further while retaining it’s small school. charm. Now if only there is a plan to deal with the influx of vehicles that these improve- ments will bring in.

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UPEI Cadre March 2,

2004 page 9