By Emma Tomini, Contributor

Laurentian’s 63 million dollar campus modernization project is well underway. The project boasts 250 000 sq. ft. of construction attributed to redesigned classrooms, teaching labs, a welcome centre, gathering areas and other multi-functional spaces.

Last winter saw the completion of the Classroom Building as well as refurbished labs in the science building. The extensive renovation is still in full swing and as a result has left some Laurentian services displaced, while recently completed projects are open and usable to students and faculty. Here is a rundown of what’s what:

Most recently, the newly-renovated Alphonse Raymond is now open and functional, featuring a new Tim Horton’s. It is fully complete aside from some exterior work that is set to be completed by the first week of October.

The most large-scale renovation in progress is the Parker building. This renovation means the passage between the Great Hall and the Parker building is temporarily closed. Foot traffic has been diverted to the back of the Parker, if you are trying to pass through from one side to the other—and it’s certainly adding a few minutes to the trek across campus. On the first floor, the One-Stop Student Services Centre is now open and operational. The book store and Office of Accessibility Services are temporarily located on the second floor of the Parker building for the time being.

A highly anticipated fixture of the campus modernization project is the new Student Centre. It is currently out of commission, and we’ve been told not to expect to have access any time soon—it’s looking like 2019 at the earliest. Another exciting new service more in reach is the Indigenous Sharing and Learning Centre; its expected date of completion is estimated to be mid-November.

Campus mod is advancing our school by leaps and bounds; but it means that the students and staff will have to continue to put up with the diversions and roadblocks for the foreseeable future.

Photo by Jessica Robinson