Ontario Construction News staff writer
Work has started on the new estimated $50 million York University School of Continuing Studies.
Aquicon Construction Co. Ltd. won the bid last summer to be the general contractor for the “twisted building” designed by Perkins + Will. The university held a “virtual groundbreaking ceremony” in line with COVID-19 restrictions last Thursday and invited visitors to see progress on a construction website.
“Our students are bold, they’re confident, they’re ambitious. The building is an embodiment of who we are as a school,” said Tracey Taylor-O’Reilly, assistant vice-president, Continuing Studies. “The building will be a twisted, iconic gateway site and showcase York’s long commitment to providing high-quality education to non-traditional students.”
Website visitors can experience the benefits of this structure by scrolling through the story of the twisted new building, seeing the renderings, and watching video interviews with students, architects from Perkins and Will and York’s leadership, the university said in a statement.
“In uncertain times, the need for innovative and responsive lifelong learning is greater than ever,” said president and vice-chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton. “This new, standalone home for our School of Continuing Studies demonstrates York’s commitment to serving the current and future needs of learners and employers, here at home and around the world, as they rise to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the demands of a dynamic global knowledge economy.”
Contractors actually started real construction work on the site in March for the 97,000 sq. ft. structure, which is expected to be completed in time for Fall, 2021 programs.