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JMSB relocation begins 

By Russ Cooper

The first big shift of people and belongings has begun and the future home of the JMSB is becoming just that — a home.

Over the weekend of May 9, numerous JMSB faculty, staff and student associations moved into the fourth, 11th and 12th floors of the almost-completed building at Guy and De Maisonneuve from their longtime residences in the GM Building.

As of May 11, Concordia had taken over building operations from contractors. By May 19, all faculty had relocated to their new state-of-the-art quarters. The move was originally planned for the end of the month but was pushed forward thanks to construction progressing ahead of schedule to coordinate with other projects currently occurring in the GM Building.

While the formal name of the building is still in discussion, its two-letter designation of 'MB' has been confirmed. The building will have 45 classrooms; most with 50-60 seats, four 120-seat classes, two rooms of 150 and there will be one amphitheatre with 300 seats. In total, the new building will be have 2 666 seats in registrar classrooms plus 200 classrooms seats under the Faculty’s jurisdiction. (In comparison, the Hall Building has 3 637 registrar spots.)

The undergraduate classrooms and student associations will be located from the second basement level up to the fourth floor with the fifth floor devoted to graduate students. Locating classrooms closest to street level is designed to improve traffic flow and to allow more flexible student meeting and study space, and easier access to classes. The upper floors will house administrative and departmental offices, and privatized programs.

Final construction will continue throughout the summer in preparation for the building's official opening in September. "The objective was to move faculty early to leave the summer to put the final touches on the project, such as the AV equipment and placing the seats in the amphitheatre, to be ready for full occupancy in the fall," says Director of Facilities Planning and Development Martine Lehoux.

As reported earlier (see Journal March 5, 2009), the contractors and planners were initially aiming for standard Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification but the building is now poised to achieve the higher-level Silver certification.

"The LEED certification won't come before eight to twelve months from now because we have to wait until the construction is completed and then we must present the documentation to the LEED certification committee," says Gilles Desrochers, the Senior Project Manager for the building's construction company, Genivar, "but we're confident and pleased we've exceeded our initial expectations."