Construction of the new Life Sciences Building has opened the door to complete the central quad of the science precinct in the north part of the Keele campus.
Initial site preparation for York’s future Life Sciences Building has commenced and pre-construction requires that the site north of the Chemistry Building and south of the Tait McKenzie tennis courts be cordoned off.
Vehicular traffic, as well as pedestrian movement, will be rerouted in the vicinity of the construction project for its duration, with the tentative substantial completion for the facility scheduled for March 2011.
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Right: A rendering of the new Life Sciences Building to be built on York’s Keele campus
The 161,850-gross-square-foot facility will be a showcase for York’s world-class health science researchers, and will provide flexible services laboratory modules for future programs. By investing the $70 million from the federal-provincial Knowledge Infrastructure Program to design, build and fit out this facility with state-of-the-art equipment, York will significantly augment its efforts in the recruitment and retention of top-calibre researchers.
The program is unique in that it co-locates both undergraduate teaching and postgraduate research. This hybrid program model will provide exciting synergy and mentorship opportunities.
The new facility will give the University an opportunity to build capacity in health science research in accordance with its strategic research plan.
During the construction, York community members are advised of the following:
- A temporary access road for access to the Petrie Science & Engineering Building Loading Dock will be built in early October.
- Excavation and foundation construction will commence mid-October.
- The existing east-west pedestrian path between the Tait McKenzie Centre and the East Office Building (along the south side of the tennis courts) will be closed and replaced with a new walkway along the south side of the West Office Building (to the north of the tennis courts).
- The William McLean Walkway, which is the north-south pedestrian walkway along the west side of the Chemistry Building, will be closed for the duration of the construction project. In its place, a temporary walkway will be created for pedestrians to link Campus Walk, Bethune College and Bethune Residence to the Tait McKenzie Centre and the Northwest Gate Parking Lot.
- A new trailer compound has been set up at the southeast corner of the Thompson Road Parking Lot, south of the Tait McKenzie Centre, and as a result 17 parking spaces are out of service from this parking lot during construction.
For reasons of safety, community members are asked to adhere to all posted signage when in the area.
For further information, contact Mirjana Krsmanovic at ext. 33258 or mirjanak@yorku.ca.