Timmins firm wins architecture school contract

Renovations are now underway at the future site of Laurentian University's architecture school, located at the corner of Elm and Elgin streets.

The university's board of governors approved the awarding of the contract, which is worth more than $5.5 million, to Cy Rheault Construction Ltd. of Timmins.

The first phase of work to prepare the architecture school for its charter class in September 2013 entails the refurbishing and modernizing of two existing structures on the site.

The CP Freight Shed, built in 1905, will be renovated with new siding, roofing, insulation and mechanical systems. The second floor of the CP Telegraph Building, built in 1914, will be renovated for use of faculty offices.

Both structures will be equipped with up-to-date and efficient heating and cooling systems. The exterior of the telegraph building will be restored through masonry cleaning and the installation of new windows, preserving the original design features.

Phase 1 of the project will employ roughly 70 people, most of whom will be hired in Sudbury, according to Cy Rheault Construction.

Phase 2 of the construction is expected to begin later in 2013, with preparations for 65,000 square feet of new construction incorporating the two original buildings into the design. Construction is due to be complete in September 2015.

“We are thrilled to be seeing the vision for our new school taking shape now at Elm and Elgin,” said the architecture school's founding director, Terrance Galvin, in a press release.

“This is the start of a landmark building, and an important creative hub in downtown Sudbury, as well as the launch of the first new school of architecture in the country in more than four decades. These are exciting times.”