[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Burke&George.jpg” caption=”Burke Christian and Peter George”]McMaster University is one step closer to having a campus heart and a central meeting place for students following a groundbreaking ceremony March 29 for a new University Centre.

The long-awaited event marks a more than 20-year effort by students and administrators at McMaster to establish a University Centre on campus.

“This is a truly wonderful occasion for McMaster. It is especially significant, though, for all of our students, present and past. They are the ones who have had both the vision and generosity to support this much-needed home for student activities and services,” says University President Peter George. “We wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to our other donors, particularly the family of Michael G. DeGroote, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the McMaster Alumni Association, the McMaster Association of Part-time Students and the Edith Turner Foundation.”

“The University Centre will be the result of the efforts of more than 25 years of students who have contributed and will continue to contribute to a central heart for the campus. There will finally be a home for student services on campus and a meeting place for all students and visitors to the University,” says McMaster Students Union President Burke Christian. “It took the persistence and fortitude of the members of the student body to ensure that a student centre will finally be built. Future generations of students will reap the benefits of their generosity for generations to come.”

The University Centre will provide a focal point for the entire campus community and address the need for social, meeting, student service and commercial space on campus. The facility will substantially enhance the academic and non-academic quality of life.
It will house student offices, lounges and meeting rooms, an information centre, a food court and several retail operations. It will also include a large banquet hall and space for club activities.

The total cost of the project is $33.2 million. Of this, construction costs represents $28.8 million. The building contract has been awarded to Ryco Alberici Ltd. Construction will begin in April, with completion of the building scheduled for fall of 2001.

An administrative director for the centre has been hired. Kim Davison joined the University on March 27. A graduate of McMaster University, Kim was formerly planning and business systems manager for the Hudson's Bay Company. She holds an MBA from York University and possesses extensive experience in administration and finance.

See related story on the Daily News: “University Centre construction begins”