Jan. 31, 2017

MacKimmie Redevelopment project: Update for the campus community

Relocation of staff and services from MacKimmie Tower will begin May 2017
The MacKimmie Tower was built between 1962 and 1972. Its original purpose was to house the university’s library.

The MacKimmie Tower was built between 1962 and 1972. Its original purpose was to house the library.

The MacKimmie Redevelopment project is an exciting multi-year, multi-phase project that will address major deferred maintenance and space issues on our campus.

Once completed, the project will provide a re-energized central hub of improved and new classrooms, centralized undergraduate and graduate student services, renewed and new student study space, and much-needed academic space in the heart of main campus.

Funding for the design and planning phase of the MacKimmie Redevelopment project was announced in April, 2016.

The first phase of the project will involve the relocation of offices from the MacKimmie Tower. Beginning in May 2017, MacKimmie Tower occupants will be moved to other areas, either on campus or to the SMART building in Research Park, to allow for further planning and design work to take place in the tower in preparation for the construction phase of the project. The moves will be staged in order to minimize impact to operations.

“Anyone who is required to move will be provided with detailed information in advance of their moving day,” said Boris Dragicevic, associate vice-president, Facilities Development. “We’ll also be sharing information with the campus community about where they can access services, such as the Integrated Services Centre, once the moves are complete. Our goal is to have everyone moved and settled by the start of the fall 2017 semester.”

The top priority with the moves is to accommodate student-related services on main campus. Staff from units that will stay on main campus will be moved to work space in Math Sciences, Earth Sciences or the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) building. These groups include Graduate Studies, the Graduate Students’ Association, the Postdoctoral Program Office, the Welcome Centre and the Integrated Service Centre.  

The remaining people currently located in the MacKimmie Tower will move into the SMART Technologies building located at the University Research Park. These groups include Research Services, Finance and Human Resources. IT staff currently located in Math Sciences and Earth Sciences (with the exception of the IT Service Centre, which will remain in Math Sciences) will also move to the SMART Technologies building to accommodate other moves.

Those directly affected by the moves, as well as the broader campus community, will be kept up to date as the project progresses.

For updates or more information, visit the website.

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