St. Peter's College (SPC) celebrated the end of a very long road last week, as they cut the ribbon to officially re-open Michael Hall after a massive multi-year renovation. Pretty much every part of the college's main building was touched during the renovations, which began July 1, 2009 with the installation of a new elevator and shaft, creating a new front entrance for the building. Over the rest of 2009, 2010 and 2011, each of the building's four floors was ripped apart and rebuilt, down to new floors and doors. New windows were installed, doorways were widened, bathrooms were upgraded and classroom lighting and acoustics were upgraded. Information technology systems were integrated into the building, as were three new science labs in the building's basement. More classrooms were added to the building's total with the conversion of the fourth floor from art and storage spaces, and on the main floor, the students have a new, open lounge area that leads straight into the library. In short, the entire 1920s-era building has been brought up to date, but with respect shown to the historical character of the building. The $12-million renovation was finally complete in March of 2012."For our students, this is great," said Rebecca Cross of SPC to the small crowd at the opening ceremonies. "We are very happy that the fully renovated building enables us to provide an even higher level of service to our students."That makes the university education they offer students that much better, Cross noted."This really started out as a dream 10 years ago or so," said Abbot Peter Novecosky, OSB, the chancellor of SPC.Through a lot of effort from a lot of people, this refurbishment was made a reality, Novecosky noted, adding thanks to all those involved in the project."This is a long time in coming," noted Rob Harasymchuk, president of SPC, in his remarks. "It would not have been possible without a list of people... who played an integral part (in this project)."He acknowledged the contributions of the federal government through the Knowledge Infrastructure grant program, the Saskatchewan government and the Ministry of Advanced Education, who also provided funding, the alumni and all those who contributed to their capital campaign, the architect Maurice Soloudre, Miners Construction, who completed the project, and the college's board of governors and the monks at St. Peter's Abbey."It was... a vision... of a long time ago. Without their commitment and support, we wouldn't have been able to (do this). Their commitment to the college has been unwavering," Harasymchuk said of the monks. The college, he added, stands as a testament to that. With that, the ceremony concluded with a ribbon cutting, before tours were offered of the building. Holding the ribbon were Dr. Gerry Junk, a former SPC student, and Sabre Teale, a current SPC student. Novecosky cut the ribbon.A reception was held in the student lounge, and a showcase of student artwork, science displays, and alumni memorabilia were available for viewing on guided or self-guided tours of the building. Approximately 125 students are enrolled at St. Peter's College this year, many of them from the local area."Now that the renovations are done, I think a lot of students are saying 'This is all right'," Harasymchuk told the Journal.
