The University of Manitoba is planning for major infrastructure upgrades as critical buildings reach the end of their life.
The Elizabeth Dafoe Library is at the top of the list, according to Raman Dhaliwal, associate vice-president of administration. She says fixing all its issues has become more trouble than it’s worth.
“In a building like this, every time you do a renovation, you’re hitting building code issues, so you are paying more to do a renovation,” Dhaliwal says. “Over the last 10 years, we’ve probably spent about $2 million with all the improvements that have been made.”
First built in 1951 and added onto in 1962, 1979 and 2008, the library’s floors are deteriorating under the heavy shelves of books. In the basement, major cracks have appeared in the foundation as parts of the building sink into the ground.
“Because the 1962 building is on piles, and the 1951 building is not, the two are not shifting together, so that’s causing these foundational issues,” Dhaliwal says.
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The university has the building inspected regularly and there are no safety concerns, but to fix these issues would require a major renovation, which would involve emptying out the busiest library on campus.
“We have nowhere to move the library, it would take years of renovations,” U of M president Michael Benarroch says. “In fact, it might be more expensive to renovate this building than to build a new building.”
The preliminary plan is to build a new library just behind the old one, which would then be demolished. Details are being worked on as part of the university’s 30-year capital plan, which it will unveil in January.
“Over a 30-year period of time, it’s well upwards of a billion to renovate the entire university,” Benarroch says.
Once it’s costed out, the university will be looking for investment from the province and from donors. The new library would be among the top priorities.
“I would love to get started on this within the next five years,” Benarroch says. “Actual shovels in the ground.”
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