UTM is looking very different from what students left last April.
Construction has finished on both the Innovation Complex and Deerfield Hall, and new heated bus shelters are expected to open today, September 8, according to Stepanka Elias, UTM’s assistant director of planning design and construction.
The Innovation Complex, home to the new Institute for Management and Innovation, was designed with study space in mind, specifically in the building’s rotunda, said Elias.
“During times when study space is in high demand, UTM will try to protect the space for study purposes and arrange the seating to maximize study capacity,” she added. “Throughout the year when the space is not used for conferences or special events, the space will be open to anyone to sit, study, [and] enjoy.”
The complex, which also includes an underground link to the Davis Building, is in the midst of applying for a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) designation, a rating based on the building’s environmental features. According to Elias, UTM is anticipating a silver designation.
The complex will now be the permanent location of the Office of the Registrar. The first stage of its move from the Davis Building is complete and the second stage will take place on Thanksgiving weekend.
In addition to the new buildings, UTM now has a 92-foot-long heated bus shelter intended for those using Mississauga Transit. The structure can accommodate over 140 people and has heaters mounted inside the two enclosed spaces, joined by an unenclosed roofed space.
The previous bus shelter accommodated up to 37 people in a 24-foot-long space, and was not heated. The original structure has undergone restorations and has been transferred to its new location outside Deerfield Hall for students waiting for the Sheridan shuttle.
In the previous school year, UTMSU’s VP part-time affairs Hassan Havili (now president) chaired a Heated Bus Shelter Committee advocating for the construction of the shelter. Havili announced at the Principal’s Town Hall last March that the committee had collected over 1,000 signatures in favour of the project, to which UTM’s chief administrative officer Paul Donoghue responded that plans were already being made to bring a heated bus shelter to campus. Havili was unavailable to comment on the outcome of the project as of press time.
According to Elias, the construction for the heated bus shelter remained within its $291,000 budget, although the total project cost has yet to be released. The Innovation Complex (budgeted for $35 million), and Deerfield Hall ($56 million), have also remained within their respective budgets, said Elias.
Both buildings received financial support from both provincial and municipal governments. Last winter, Council at the City of Mississauga voted in favour of investing $10 million into the new Innovation Complex over a 10-year period, and the provincial government has also committed to funding 70% of the total construction costs of Deerfield Hall. Total costs for both projects have yet to be released.
Future construction plans on campus include the second renovation phase of the North Building and further reconstruction of the Davis Building.
