Safety concerns lead to repairs on newly-opened residence

By Fabian Mayer, October 23 2015 —

The University of Calgary’s new undergraduate residence building already requires repairs due to safety concerns. Aurora Hall’s main entrance has been cordoned off since Oct. 20, forcing students to use a back door to enter the building.

Aurora Hall officially opened on Sept. 16 and houses roughly 250 upper-year undergraduate students. Residents were notified about the situation in an e-mail early this week.

Residence facilities manager Ed Buchan said that ceiling panels in the main entrance were sagging and that workers are investigating the cause of the issue.

“Upon discovery, the area was closed and proper action was taken right away to ensure the safety of members of our campus community,” Buchan said.

Fourth-year philosophy student Dmytro Humynetskyy lives in the building, but isn’t too concerned.

“It is a new building, so maybe they were just in a little bit of a rush to finish,” Humynetskyy said.

Construction on the nine-storey building began in late 2013.

While Humynetskyy said the repairs don’t inconvenience him, he was surprised they were necessary so soon after the residence opened.

“It’s definitely a very nice looking building. You kind of think they’d have their engineering figured out right off the bat,” Humynetskyy said.

Residence fees for Aurora Hall range from $875–1075 per month.