MacKimmie Tower closing Sept. 1 for initial construction work

The remainder of the summer will see Facilities staff and construction crews preparing to begin work on MacKimmie Tower in September. Since planning funding was announced in spring 2016, behind-the-scenes work has been happening to get ready for the redevelopment of the complex. Efforts are now turning to preparation of the area around the tower for some initial construction activities including abatement, selective demolition inside the building, and the removal of the exterior walls.

“Nothing is more important than the safety of the campus community and visitors on our campus,” says Bart Becker, vice-president, faciilities. “Construction will be taking place in a very busy part of campus for several years. We’ll have safety measures in place, but we need the campus community to be aware of the closures and detours.”

Several measures will be in place by Sept. 1 for the safety of the campus community.

Closures

• The south side of MacKimmie Link will be closed. The doors on the north side of the link and the Plus-15 walkway to TDFL will remain open.
• Lot 1 will be partially closed before the end of August to allow for construction staging and safe traffic flow. The west side of the lot will remain open to the public.

Pedestrian safety

• Pedestrians exiting Murray Fraser Hall at MacKimmie Tower will not be able to cross the laneway and will be detoured around Craigie Hall or around Murray Fraser Hall.
• Barriers will be erected along the west side of the laneway (in front of TFDL) to separate pedestrians and vehicles.
• A permanent electronic gate will be installed at the entry to the laneway off University Way to control traffic accessing the construction site and MacEwan Hall and TFDL loading docks.
• Once construction begins, flag personnel will be on site Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the electronic gate and at the MacKimmie Complex loading docks to direct construction traffic and provide an extra measure of safety.

See the MacKimmie Tower construction area map for more information. Visit Campus Forward to stay up to date on the MacKimmie Complex and Professional Faculties Redevelopment Project.

About the project

The MacKimmie Complex and Professional Faculties Building Redevelopment project is a multi-year, multi-phase project to address deferred maintenance and accommodate growth on the University of Calgary campus. The MacKimmie Complex and Professional Faculties building will be a re-energized central hub of improved and new classrooms, centralized undergraduate and graduate student services, renewed and new student study space, and much needed academic space in the heart of the main campus.