New LU construction project on budget and on schedule, university says

The new Clifford Fielding Research, Innovation and Engineering Building at Laurentian University is moving forward on schedule and on budget, officials say.

Once complete, the $30 million construction project will house engineering labs and machine shops, along with research and innovation space.

"There's a huge need for the new building," Sheila Mendes, capital project manager at Laurentian said.

"The engineering program has grown from 70 to 700 students in 10 years with no new space, so the need for lab space in particular has been critical for the growth of that program."

The 60,000 square foot building attaches to the existing Fraser Building. One feature is a rockwall in the new building, Mendes said.

"We intentionally planned it so that we could have this bedrock serve as one of our foundation walls," she said.

"We were very dependent on the quality of rock once the break happened, but we blasted this on Dec. 27 last year, the rock broke almost exactly the way we wanted it to."

The new building will house all engineering programs, including mining, chemical and mechanical, with space to eventually add a full civil engineering program.

The facility is expected to open by the fall.