Red River College is pressing pause on construction for its $95 million Innovation Centre.
Work is already underway on the project in Winnipeg’s Exchange District, which is set to be 100,000 sq/ft and four storeys tall.
The federal government signed an agreement to help fund the expansion last June, saying it would contribute $40.6 million to the cause.
But as of March 5, Red River put the brakes on the project’s construction, placing six tenders on hold for the time being.
The college said the government wants everything finished by the end of November – a timeline it claims is unreasonable.
“RRC has accelerated the design and build of the new Innovation Centre – shovels are already in the ground – however, it is not physically possible to complete construction by Nov. 30, 2018 – the federal deadline,” the college stated in a media release.
Red River College’s statement goes on to say it has made the government aware of the complex work required to complete the project, including renovation of the heritage building at 319 Elgin Street. It wants to see an extension granted so construction can continue.
The site would be a part of the institution’s Exchange District campus and is expected to bring 1,200 students and staff to the college.
“The Innovation Centre would allow Manitoba to keep pace with other provinces that are investing in similar centres and moving away from old-style classrooms and learning,” the media release stated. “The Centre’s focus is on innovation, entrepreneurship and collision space – creative interactions between students, faculty, business, applied research and the community.”
The project was announced in April 2017, and is set to become home to Indigenous-focused programs for social innovation and entrepreneurship.