Ian Sutherland - Mayor
The Sea to Sky University will be one of the biggest economic drivers heading into our future.
With that in mind, a walk around the site, and a brief summary of where things stand today, should make everyone in our community quite comfortable with the progress the project in making.
SSU is a real project and a real university supported by the sale of residential lands. It is not just a real estate play, as some have suggested.
Without a doubt the construction of the Mashiter Creek Bridge was a milestone for this project. It is a symbol to the community of progress being made by SSU.
It's also noteworthy that SSU was able to construct this bridge for the $3.25 million they had promised; not the higher numbers that were floated in the community by those who doubted the project.
The University has also completed the sanitary sewer line for the 240-acre site, and is nearing completion on the water supply system for the University with the construction and installation of two new reservoirs and a pumping station.
During the past year work crews and contractors have also moved 100,000 cubic metres of earth and rock while preparing the site for service infrastructure and building pads.
This work also included grading and installation of roads, services and utilities.
This all adds up to a massive amount of work, with real money being spent to advance the project to this stage.
No one should doubt the commitment that Dr. David Strangway, Peter Ufford, Terry Partington and all the others connected to SSU have to this project.
The Recreation Centre is well underway, with 10 workers on-site preparing the concrete footings and foundations.
Structural steel will arrive on the site for the Recreation Centre in August, increasing the work force on this project to approximately 30 people.
To date, seven contracts totaling more than $2 million have been awarded for the Recreation Centre.The three-level Rec Centre will be constructed in two phases.
The first phase will include a full size gymnasium built to the standards needed for Canadian and American intercollegiate games for basketball, volleyball and badminton.
This initial phase will also include two squash courts, a fitness facility, changing rooms and some office space.
The second phase will house a student pub, two more squash courts, an expanded fitness area and the outdoor field.
With summer approaching, the University is proceeding with plans to tender and award contracts for the construction of the University Services Building, the Library/ Learning Centre, the first Academic Building and the parkade.
These contracts have a total value of approximately $55 million and will provide employment for between 80 and 120 construction workers and trades people.
The Mashiter Bridge will soon be open to the public. In the meantime, take some time to walk or bike the University Lands.
The natural beauty is breath taking, and the footprint can begin to take shape in the mind's eyeWhile all this activity is going on, Dr. Strangway and his academic team continue to refine their work.
When the first 160 students arrive, they will be the first wave in a student body that will hit a Phase 1 target of 640 fulltime students after four years.
I hope the people who call Squamish home share my excitement about the progress being made at SSU.
This institution will forever change the face of Squamish, and will also put us in the history books as the home of the first private, secular and non-profit university in Canada.
