“An ongoing problem with the SC building is limited power,” said Melissa Fuller, Concordia Student Union VP Loyola and services. “Because Chartwells, located on the first floor, requires a large amount of the available electricity to operate and has been allocated that power from the start. No construction has been completed because we could not move forward without knowing how the electrical problem would be fixed.”
The lack of electricity is an ongoing dilemma which the CSU has already dealt with in the past. “[There have been times] where generators have
had to be used for CSU events because of it,” said Fuller.
Nonetheless, the CSU was given confirmation that electrical problems would not be an issue before DART, a Collaborative Design Research class, went to work on the café designs. Therefore, it came as a surprise for Fuller and the other student union executives that electricity was the main factor preventing the café’s opening.
“Facilities management has been working alongside the CSU to find solutions, temporary and permanent,” explained Fuller. “A short term fix of adding electrical panels is moving forward,” she continued. “We are waiting on signed approval from a firm, and a meeting is set for next week to move forward on building everything.”
While a final budget to fix the issue has yet to be confirmed, such an option may cost upwards of $50,000. One of the long term solutions considered is to place solar panels on the roof of the SC building.
A meeting with facilities management and dean of students Andrew Woodall was held on Aug. 24 after receiving a report on the load capacity of the SC roof. A followup meeting is scheduled to take place within the next week to discuss the costs associated with long term versus short term solutions.
This semester, an engineering class will be working on a green roof for the SC building as a class project. The CSU will take a look at options the class creates before moving forward on actually building a green roof.
“Some ideas may include a rooftop garden, greenhouse, or a combination with solar panels,” suggested Fuller.
Planning for the café began nearly a year ago, when the CSU, which manages the space, wanted to endorse a sustainable method of design. With the floor plans drawn up, construction is slated to begin once the electrical problems are resolved.
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