By Dale Miller
After a mild and productive winter, the 2,500 square metre Kinesiology Complex expansion project is still going full speed ahead.
“The development is coming along famously, we’re actually ahead of schedule,” said John Paulsen, Director of Operations at the Faculty of Kinesiology. “We’ve been incredibly fortunate, because we took a risk building during the winter, but we only had about eight days where the weather actually stopped us.”
The expansion project, which has been in the works for three years, will add two new research oriented levels onto the existing complex, adding space for approximately 150 researchers and support staff.
Construction on the fourth floor is expected to finish mid-August, but another six weeks will be needed to finish the third floor where most of the research equipment will be located.
“The biggest thing with the third floor is all the research space,” explained Paulsen. “There is an enormous amount of equipment and stuff that needs to be ordered and put in place.”
As promised, there has been minimal disruption in day-to-day life in Kinesiology, with most of the disruptive lifting and craning being done at night. The majority of external construction is now complete, so the contractor, CANA, will be able to keep its quiet record while working day shifts.
“The faculty and the contractors have pulled together and formed a good team, and everybody is pulling the wagon in the same direction” said Paulsen. “That’s the reason that it’s working as well as it is–I’m looking forward to it and I think it’s going to be an awesome facility.”