Grad House opening still pending

The last time Dal News updated on the reopening of the Grad House at its new LeMarchant Street location, the estimated date was in mid-late March.

Clearly, that didn’t happen. So what’s the hold up?

It’s not, as the campus rumours go, that the building is being torn down make room for the new residence on LeMarchant; the space for that new building, and the houses being moved or demolished, are at the other end of the street.

Part of the delay is a tie-up in mandatory inspections, according to Marc Braithwaite, executive director of student wellness for the university and the liaison between Facilities Management and the Dalhousie Association of Graduate Students (DAGS) on the project.

An initial fire inspection pointed out issues with equipment that required upgrades to meet university standards. Those have been remedied and the building is now ready for what everyone hopes will be the final inspection on May 27.

After that is complete, the university and DAGS will sign the lease, with DAGS expected to take occupancy of the building on June 1. That will allow the executive to set up shop in their offices upstairs and apply for the facility’s liquor license.

There is one last obstacle in the way of opening, though: furniture. Delays in ordering new bar furniture through the university’s purchasing process means that it will likely be another seven or eight weeks until the Grad House will be able to officially open for business.

Even still, some lingering issues remain. The largest one is capacity. Right now, as it stands, the capacity of the new Grad House has been set through the inspection process at 50 people – significantly less both the university and DAGS were striving for.

“It was certainly not what we were expecting,” said DAGS President Eric Snow when Dal News spoke with him in late April. Though it was understood that the new facility would likely have a lower capacity than the old Grad House, DAGS was hoping for something closer to 100.

“It’s a beautiful space,” said Mr. Snow. “It’ll be amazing when we came open, and if we can do business without incurring losses.”

That said, presently it does not appear as if the capacity issue will further delay the opening, and the university has pledged to work with DAGS on facility adjustments that will hopefully improve the capacity on further inspection.

“We are in agreement that we’re going to work together towards a solution to improve that,” says Mr. Braithwaite. “These changes won’t be immediate, and we won’t delay the opening for them, but the university is going to work with DAGS on this.

“At this point, we just really need to get rolling. We’re all anxious to see the building open.”