Renovation of the John Ware building at SAIT has been under way for the entire 2017-18 school year.
SAIT’s stakeholders aim for it to be done by the end of the winter semester.
Chris Gerritsen, a spokesman for SAIT, said in a recent interview that the project is running on time.
“It’s not a case of being behind schedule, we’re on schedule,” said Gerritsen.
“One thing about Calgary is, nothing is for sure when it comes to the weather.”
The milder the weather is, the faster the work will be completed and may even allow for landscaping to be done earlier than expected.
But the winter of 2018 has been generally cold, and very snowy.
SAIT began renovations on the John Ware for both cosmetic and age concerns, and as part of an ongoing commitment to improving the campus for both the students and staff.
“It’s important to note that change is good,” said Gerritsen, encouraging students to embrace this change no matter how inconvenient it may be.
Luis Parisi is a resident living on campus and a second-year culinary student who has had classes in John Ware for the last two years. He is in favour of the renovations.
Parisi described crumbling concrete in some parts of the building and said he suspects the floors of the kitchen are no longer up to code, but having been approved previously, they’re still legal.
“It was crappy, the outside looked like a haunted building,” said Parisi.
He said that during the construction, diesel fumes from the site often found their way inside and linger due to the poor circulation that comes from three of its main entrances being blocked off.
As of mid-February, according to Parisi, work was focused on the exterior of the building. Work inside hadn’t started, and Parisi things the interior may not be finished by the end of the school year, in April.
“The outside will probably be done by end of (the school year), but the inside will take much longer,” said Parisi. “In my opinion, I think the inside should have been done before the outside.”
