Large renovations at the University of New Brunswick’s Student Union Building (SUB) could mean a reduction in space for some of the building’s current tenants.
Construction plans include relocating the campus bookstore and giving the pharmacy a larger space. While some tenants of the SUB will need to greatly reduce their space, others will lose their place entirely, including Campus Convenience.
Mary-Jane Adams, associate vice president of capital planning and operations at UNB, said the renovation project comes after a retail review that found students wanted the bookstore and pharmacy relocated.
She said officials expect the first phase of construction to begin in May and be complete by the end of summer 2024.
“We are in the midst of hiring a construction manager who will develop the schedule and sequencing of the project,” said Adams.
Mark Kilfoil, station manager at CHSR-FM, the campus-licensed radio station, said the renovations to the SUB mean the radio station needs to reduce its space by 50 per cent.
“It’s a mixed reaction,” said Kilfoil, who previously served as CHSR-FM’s program director.
Kilfoil said a smaller space means the radio station will no longer have a lobby or individual offices for its three full-time staff members. While the station is reducing its space and might need to share with other groups, he said he doesn’t know what those groups are.
“Right now, there’s still substantial uncertainty,” he said.
The station is in the process of reducing its space while continuing regular programming. The move includes packing up over 2,000 records and almost 80,000 CDs.
Kilfoil said staff had to get clever with the use of their limited storage space. CHSR-FM aims to finish packing by the end of February, but with limited staff and financial resources, Kilfoil says the largest difficulties have been the short timeline and ambiguity.
“They’re very good reasons for doing what they’re doing,” he said.
“It would just be nice to have a simple poster that says ‘here’s what the changes are going to look like.’”
