By Emily Senger
Some creative space swapping could bring a dentist’s office to Mac Hall within the next few years.
The University of Calgary is renovating space on the third floor of MacEwan Student Centre to house a women’s centre. In exchange for this space–which was owned by the Students’ Union–the SU will get the space currently housing the Disability Resource Centre when the DRC is relocated to the new Campus Calgary Digital Library, set to open in 2008.
The SU hopes to use the 2,200 square feet in the current DRC to house a dentist’s office.
“We were hoping for a dentist’s office on the third floor, but it didn’t really work out,” said SU vice-president operations and finance Cody Wagner. “It would be a great service for students.”
Though the space swap means about 200 additional square feet of space for the SU, it comes with a downside.
“Any time [the university] wants new space, there has to be a swap of space,” explained Wagner. “There is a bit of a risk. What if the campus digital library isn’t built for 10 years?”
Though the CCDL will be built on the west side of MacKimmie Library Block, construction has not yet begun.
The CCDL has also delayed the SU’s Student Commons project, said Wagner. The $1.2 million project is supposed to turn the current MSC patio into an atrium, which students could use year-round.
Wagner said the SU doesn’t want to start construction on the Student Commons until CCDL plans are finalized to ensure both buildings mesh well in the allotted space.