The glass panels have recently been added to the outside of the Student Learning Centre. (Leslie Walker / Ryersonian Staff)
The supporting structure of Ryerson’s Student Learning Centre (SLC) is nearly done and the glass panels have started to arrive. According to Ryerson, construction is on schedule and the seven-storey building should be ready to open by January 2015.
The centre is located on the site of the famous Sam the Record Man, on the northeast corner of Yonge and Gould Streets.
“It has beautiful and functional spaces from top to bottom for students to study, hang out, receive learning supports,” said Ryerson’s vice-president of administration and finance Julia Hanigsberg in an email.
“There will (also) be a grab-and-go for coffee in the lobby.”
Angelo Cofini, Ellis Don head contractor, was unavailable to comment, but did say in an email that the company is working hard towards this target of completing construction at the end of 2014. In 2010, The Ryersonian reported that the university expected the building would be completed by 2013. The budget is projected to come in at a total $112 million and Hanigsberg is confident it won’t go over budget.
Provincial funding covers $45 million of the project while $22 million comes from fundraising. The remaining $45 million is specified as coming from the university’s internal sources. The second floor of the library building is now attached to the SLC.
Students will be able to move between the two buildings freely from the library to the new Learning Commons in the SLC.
The two buildings will work seamlessly, said chief librarian Madeline Lefebvre, adding that the connection bridge has already been built.
Construction crews have begun applying the glass to the connection between the two buildings. This structure will bring the Ryerson library to the next level, according to Lefebvre.
“Students would say time and time again that they are in desperate need of study space and this is a great opportunity to provide that,” she said.
The library’s books will stay where they are, as the idea is to expand the learning and study space, not shelf space. “It is a project that we have all been excited about,” Lefebvre said. “Seeing it come along is very exciting.”
This story was first published in The Ryersonian, a weekly newspaper produced by the Ryerson School of Journalism, on March 26, 2014.
Graduate of the Bachelor of Journalism program at Ryerson University 2014. Aspiring feature writer with a passion for local news. Reporter for the Ryersonian in print, online and broadcast. This is me, and always will be.
