A new beginning

Alumni Affairs has moved its offices to Enterprise Square, the university's new downtown campus. And while moving 23 people can be a stressful task, director Susan Peirce says her staff members are excited about the move.

"Everyone did a lot of work purging old files and packing. When we arrived down here and everyone got into their spaces, they were all saying 'This is great - I love my new office.' Everyone seems happy," Peirce said.

Alumni Affairs joins the Faculty of Extension, the School of Business' Executive Education programs and Alberta Family Business Institute at Enterprise Square - formerly the Bay building.

"Everything is bright and new," said staff member Shelagh Kubish, associate editor of New Trail. "And personally it is quite nice to be working in a building I remember from my childhood - you remember being there at the Bay - it is a mix of old and new, and right outside our door you can see from 102 street to 103 street. I like that openness."

"It is a bit of an adventure," Peirce said of the move, and the staff members are exploring the vibrant downtown area.

"So much is happening down here," she said. "There are theatres, lectures, interesting places to eat and shop, and we share the building with the Art Gallery of Alberta - we've already incorporated that into some of our alumni programming."

Peirce said the downtown location allows the university to be involved with its alumni and the greater community in ways it has not done before.

"I've spoken to alumni and told them we've moved downtown and they've said 'Oh, that's great, I'm going to drop by for a visit.' And they have never dropped by the Alumni Association office on campus."

"This is going to be a great opportunity to connect with people."

Peirce says her office will remain connected to the main campus as well - all U of A staff have free LRT access between the Health Science and Churchill stations.

The idea of expanding the campus across the river came as a space crunch prompted U of A planners to begin looking for a new home for TEC Edmonton, the technology commercialization venture created by the U of A and Edmonton Economic Development Corp.

After briefly considering the possibility of a new building, the U of A chose to pursue the purchase of the Bay building, which had sat empty, with the exception of CityTV, for years. This decision would set the stage for a partnership that is regarded as a keystone in the downtown's revitalization, and a move which many feel places the school amongst the world's elite. With an estimated price tag of $86.5 million, Enterprise Square has truly been a team effort with financial contributions coming from not only the U of A ($49 million), but also the Government of Canada ($15 million), Government of Alberta ($15 million) and City of Edmonton ($7.5 million).

Renovations of the historic building, originally opened in 1939 at a cost of $1 million, included the addition of a fourth floor, increasing the building's area up to 430,000 sq. ft.

Local consultant Janet Riopel has been contracted to serve as the executive director of Enterprise Square. Her goal is to create a dynamic, engaging, much-valued and well-recognized presence for the U of A within downtown Edmonton. Riopel will work to build strong partnerships with neighbours and the community at large, establishing broad external outreach and public engagement. In that capacity, she will work with tenant operations and program committees as well, that will help guide the booking of the atrium and serve as a liaison on day-to-day operations of the building with property manager Bentall.

University of Alberta International and AICT will move into Enterprise Square in December, AIS, Advancement Services and Development will move in early January, and TEC Edmonton is slated to move into the new fourth floor in two stages: their administrative offices in mid-December and their labs in late January.