ST. PETERS BAY, P.E.I. — Mayor Ronnie McInnis believes that the University of Prince Edward Island's (UPEI) upcoming facility will be a big plus for both the community and the facility's cause.
"We can adapt to the changes that are taking place," he said. "That seems to be the attitude that UPEI has toward it, so I think it'll be a good thing."
UPEI's Canadian Centre for Climate Change and Adaptation was announced for St. Peters Bay in 2019. Construction on what was dubbed a living laboratory started last year and was anticipated to be completed later this year.
"They seem to be moving forward on the project, and we look forward to having them in our community," McInnis said.
Jackie Podger, UPEI's vice-president of administration and finance, said that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the facility's construction has remained on track.
"If the weather continues to co-operate, we expect to see the facility completed in (the fall) 2021," she said in an email to The Guardian.
The 39,000-square-foot facility is located along Route 2 in St. Peters Bay, at the end of a long driveway, just across from the post office. So far, the preliminary site work that has been completed includes the stormwater management system, the foundation, the footings, the waterproofing drainage tile and the backfilling.
Currently, the building's steel structural components are being erected, and the contractor will begin installing the wall panels and beams next.
The remaining work has either been tendered or is out for tender, Podger said.
The facility is designed by Baird Sampson Neuert Architects and SableARC Studios.
Robert Haggis, principal architect with SableARC, said it was originally intended to be 45,000 square-feet in size, but this was reduced due to budgeting reasons.
Building background
- The St. Peters Bay facility will serve as a living laboratory thanks to its nearby wetlands, forests and coastal habitats that are affected by climate change.
- It is also being sustainably designed and will be Net Zero ready.
- Along with the university's climate change and adaptation program, the facility will house research centres and the UPEI Climate Lab. In addition, the facility will have a 21-room residence for senior students and visiting faculty and a port for UPEI's fleet of drones.
While the university hopes the facility will be completed this fall, whether it will be ready for students in the 2021-22 school year is still to be determined, a UPEI communications representative said.
UPEI has offered a science bachelor in climate change and adaptation since 2018. When the facility is complete, students will spend their first two years at the Charlottetown campus before transitioning to the St. Peters Bay campus, which is located just over 50 kilometres from the university, for their final two years.
"It'll be good to have some young people around," McInnis said.
Daniel Brown is a local journalism initiative reporter, a position funded by the federal government.
