College residence to be erected in 45 days
A 512-student St. Clair College residence that will be erected in 45 days is the biggest construction project registered with the city so far in 2020.
The five-storey residence tops the monthly building permit report for January. A permit for the $2 million foundation was issued in December and work’s already underway. The permit issued in January was for $18 million in above-ground work which won’t start until May. Total value of the project is $23 million.
The $18 million for the residence represents almost half the $37.8 million in total construction value in January, which is more than triple the $11 million in January of 2019.
The privately financed residence was green lighted last year, largely to address the soaring number of international students — 5,000 — attending the college, a phenomenon that only started a few years ago.
“It’s not exclusive, but it’s primarily for international students,” college vice-president Ron Seguin said of the residence, which will be located near the existing residence on the college’s main campus.
“This is a very unique building because it’s a modular-delivered building,” he said.
The modular units will be constructed in a factory and shipped to the site in 320 trucks in May, then stacked and connected. The units are coming from Z Modular, a company owned by local steel magnate Barry Zekelman.
“Believe it or not, it’s going to be erected in 45 days,” said Seguin. “From the outside it will look complete, but there will still be a lot of work inside.”
The college is looking for a completion date in October or November, with students moving in next January.