Memorial University has revised the construction completion date for the Core Science Facility to spring 2021.

The official opening is scheduled for the 2021 fall semester.

In order to minimize disruption to the academic schedule, the building must open at the start of a semester.

Three years after the award of the contract, the construction costs remain on budget with a global construction cost of $325 million.

Infrastructure renewal

The Core Science Facility is the centerpiece for infrastructure renewal on the St. John’s campus.

Ann Browne, associate vice-president (facilities) at Memorial, says delays are typical for construction projects of this size, scope and complexity.

“We are working with our contractors and consultants to identify all of the other factors that have influenced this delay,” she said.

“Among the factors we have identified are extreme weather over the past three years, as well as the emergence of COVID-19 that impacted global supply chains, further impacting the schedule.”

While construction has continued through the public health emergency declared by the province, it is too early to say if the current environment will further impact the revised schedule, she added.

Construction of the Core Science Facility began in 2015. However the project was delayed by one year in 2016 when the bids for the main construction contract were higher than estimates.

The tender documents were revised and the call reissued. In 2017 the main construction contract for the Core Science Facility was awarded to Marco Services Ltd.

Occupants

The teaching and research space will be occupied primarily by the Departments of Biochemistry, Biology and Chemistry in the Faculty of Science; the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science; and laboratories from the Core Research Equipment and Instrument Training (CREAIT) Network.

The building will also contain Technical Services’ Cryogenics Facility, the Faculty of Science’s Central Chemical Stores Facility and an aquatics facility that is part of Memorial University’s Animal Care Facilities.

The Ocean Frontier Institute, a collaboration among Memorial, Dalhousie University and the University of Prince Edward Island, will eventually be housed in the building, as well as other entities, yet to be determined.

For more information about the Core Science Facility, please visit here.