Mount Allison’s 5-year plan to renovate the RP Bell includes a temporary library and future athletic space
Senior administrators with Mount Allison University have announced plans for a five year, $85 million project that will begin construction this summer, and has been in the works since 2018.
The school will be breaking ground this summer on Landsdowne Street behind the Athletic Centre to build a 40,000 square foot building to temporarily house the university’s library for three years, while the octagonal Ralph Pickard Bell library undergoes a major renovation.
The plan is to have the new building ready in two years, by the summer of 2026, and then move library services onto Landsdowne until 2029, when the renewed Ralph Pickard Bell library is slated to reopen. After serving as a temporary library for three years, the new building will be outfitted as a multipurpose athletic facility for the school.
Mount A’s interim president Robert MacKinnon, vice president of finance Robert Inglis, dean of libraries Rachel Rubin, and director of facilities management Kris Kierstead presented the plan in two presentations to the university community on Wednesday afternoon and evening.
Hear Rachel Rubin and Kris Kierstead talk about the project after their presentation on Wednesday:
The total project will cost about $85 million, says Inglis, with provincial and federal governments chipping in $36 million, and donations making up most of the rest.… Continue