December 6, 2011

Waterfront redevelopment in Summerside, Prince Edward Island entails major HVAC retrofit

DON PROCTER

correspondent

Developing a community college on prime downtown waterfront land might be the stuff of dreams for many Canadian college administrators but in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, it is a reality.

Holland College is redeveloping the Waterfront Mall, an aging shopping centre in Summerside, PEI that has witnessed an increase in vacant retail spaces in recent years as shoppers flock to big-box retail outlets on the outskirts of town.

The $9.4 million project will bring together industrial technology and trade programs which were in leased air force base buildings in Summerside. Several hundred full- and part-time students will be served by the new campus.

Making a 190,000-square-foot mall over into an educational institute is anything but straightforward. For one, the mall’s HVAC system will require a major retrofit to add fresh air supply for classrooms and industrial teaching shops.

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“The mall’s system really didn’t offer any fresh air, other than what might come through air conditioners in the summer,” says Kent Sheen, program manager of industrial technology and trades at the college.

About half of the original 30 air handlers on the roof of the mall will be repurposed for the college.

“It’s a complicated process,” points out Justin Dunn, director of facilities management, Holland College, the community college for the province.

“Without entirely gutting the interior, we have to figure out how we can take the assets that were originally there and modify them for our purposes.”

Electrical consultant is Richardson Associates Ltd.; MCA Consultants Inc. is the mechanical consultant.

The building schedule is an aggressive one for construction manager Brighton Construction, which must meet a tight deadline to have the college ready for classes in the fall.

Throughout the reconstruction process, Dunn says reuse of existing materials will be a priority, in part to keep costs down. Retail glass store fronts, for example, will be saved as class and shop room walls. Much of the shopping mall’s lighting and some of its finishes will also be incorporated into the new college.

Some materials, he adds, will also be salvaged for use in other campuses of college, which has 13 campuses across the province.

The 1970s mall has areas with 12-foot and 19-foot high ceilings, the latter which will be designated for shop spaces. Dropped ceilings will be installed to accommodate HVAC equipment, says Sheen.

Of the mall’s original shops, only the liquor store, supermarket and call centre will be retained in about 30,000-square-feet. To protect those tenants from construction noise and debris during demolition, a barrier wall framed in steel studs and clad in poly and OSB will be installed.

On reclaimed land, the building is an early-day tilt-up concrete design on a poured concrete slab to keep foundation costs to a minimum.

To meet the needs of the college for natural light, areas of the precast concrete façade will be cut out and replaced with windows, says Dunn.

The choice to move to the mall with 800 existing parking spaces and about 1,000 feet along the city’s waterfront for a price tag under $10 million was a no-brainer, says Sheen.

“I think if you did a quick calculation on your napkin over lunchtime you’d realize you couldn’t even come close to constructing a new building for that price.”

The project is a partnership between the college and the federal and provincial governments. The feds, through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, will be investing $1 million to assist with the renovations. Through the Department of Innovation and Advanced Learning, the province will add another $1 million to the project.

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