Renovations ‘on schedule’: administration

The Hall building and GM building are both undergoing a substantial facelift. The escalator replacements will not be completed until 2013. Photo by Camille Nerant

The Hall building and GM building are both undergoing a substantial facelift. The escalator replacements will not be completed until 2013. Photo by Camille Nerant

Two major renovation projects at Concordia are on schedule, according to press releases issued in the past weeks by university administration.

The Hall building’s escalators, notorious for their unreliability, are to be replaced in phases, with the first escalator being installed between the lobby and the mezzanine in late April. The size of the new escalator requires that it enter the building via a window. This work will occur over a weekend and some temporary disruptions on Bishop Street and De Maisonneuve Boulevard may be necessary.

“The replacement will be completed by the spring of 2013,” said university spokeswoman Chris Mota. “Disruptions will be kept to a minimum during business hours. Noisy or disruptive work is done over weekends and outside business hours.”

Concordia plans to replace 17 of the 18 escalators in the Hall building, which opened in 1966. Funded by Quebec’s infrastructure program, this $12-million project will last two years and will be completed in phases.

According to Mota, the modular escalator proposal submitted by Kone, a company that specializes in innovative and eco-efficient elevators and escalators, was especially chosen because of the less disruptive nature of the installation.

“The proposal reuses the existing metallic structure,” pointed out Mota. “The technology is so new, even to those in the industry, that Kone is currently training employees to install, repair and maintain the innovative machinery. Concordia is expected to be Kone’s showcase project in Canada.”

Th project brought about the re-evaluation of all the pay phones in the building because the walls needed to be refinished. Based on usage data provided by Bell Canada, it was decided to remove all the payphones except for those in the lobby.

Over at the GM building, demolition work continues to take place inside as workers prepare to install a new exterior shell to the structure. Some occupants have been relocated as the construction progresses.

“[The project] will increase the building’s energy efficiency, renew the infrastructure and improve the heating and cooling system,” said Mota.

Funded by the Ministry of Education’s Plan quinquennal d’investissements universitaires, the project is set to cost $14 million.

 

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