The fate of a historic building on the Mount Allison campus is still up in the air as university administrators decide how to convert the facility into a brand new Fine and Performing Arts Centre.
David Stewart, Mount A’s vice-president of administration, says the university is currently in the “information-gathering stage” of a project that will decide the future of the former Memorial Library building (or more recently known as the old student centre).
The building was originally built in 1927 as a library and was dedicated to Mount Allison alumni who had lost their lives in the First World War – the plaques honouring the victims of WWI are now on display in the Wallace McCain Student Centre outside of Tweedie Hall. The left side of the building, including the back entrance, encompasses what is called Tweedie Wing, which was added around 1958.
The new proposed facility is part of a four-stage project that has spanned several years, said Stewart. The first part of the project was replacing Trueman house with a new residence, Campbell Hall, followed by the refurbishment of Trueman into what is now the Wallace McCain Student Centre.
Currently underway is stage three of the project – converting the Memorial Library/former student centre into a Fine and Performing Arts Centre.
The first step in the process was laying out the logistics for what exactly the building was going to be used for and the specific requirements for what was going to be housed in the facility, explained Stewart.
An assessment was conducted on the building, after which it was revealed that there are problems with the Memorial Library section meeting code. The building is suffering from structural fatigue and certain sections lack the ‘head-room’ required for the Fine and Performing Arts Department, said Stewart, who pointed out that these restraints limit what can go into the current building.
Stewart stressed, however, that no final decisions have been made regarding the fate of the Memorial Library building. The ability to use the current building is still being questioned and Stewart says “we would do that with any project.”
At the moment, the university is gathering as much information as they can on the issues with the building so they can make a decision over the next couple of months.
The option is there to take the building down and, according to vice-president Stewart, nothing has been designed yet. It is still in the concept stages and it is too early to say what type of design the building will have.
“The university has been open to many different possibilities,” Stewart said last Thursday “(but) at the end of the day, we have to do what’s best for the students and faculty who use it because that’s what its all about.”
A review is currently under way into how much it would cost to use the current building and, as it stands right now, it will cost up to 10 per cent more to integrate the Memorial Library into the new design – approximately $3 million more expensive.
And he also pointed out that the building wouldn’t be able to be used very efficiently in terms of energy and operating costs.
This is important to consider, he said, because ultimately after all the fundraising is finished, “it’s the students that will have to pay for it.”
A lot of information has gone to the board of regents to get the process moving but the university is still gathering as much as they can about the current structure.
“There are lots of different questions we need to explore, like what can we do to get better use out of the building,” said Stewart.
Taking into account the public’s opinions and input, sorting through the complex information about the building, figuring out what it means and putting it all together is the number one priority right now, he insisted. Then the next big decision will be to determine whether or not the Memorial Library will be a part of the new design.
