Renovation of the Divinity House. Renovated spaces will include:
Offices for Native Student Counselors at Bishop's University and Champlain College;
A meeting place for Aboriginal students;
An exhibition hall dedicated to Aboriginal arts;
Seminar rooms;
An apartment for visitors;
Offices of professors;
A gathering area outside the building.
The Divinity House building is a building built in 1892 as part of Bishop's University's built heritage. This heritage building of the Université anglophone des Cantons de l'Est is located on a site recognized as the traditional ancestral land of the nation Abénaquis. This property is currently closed for reasons of safety and hygiene since 2014 because it presented a risk of collapse.
The proposed project to save this building from demolition, is to turn it into a meeting space and resource center for Aboriginal students at Bishop's University as well as Champlain College.
The center will be a place for our Aboriginal students to meet, talk and share and to promote cultural and academic learning. The center will also aim to help students succeed and achieve their full academic potential, taking advantage of the many new resources available to them. The center should also promote dialogue and interaction between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students at Lennoxville University and Champlain College located on our campus.
The project consists of a complete renovation of the 4 floors of the building totaling a little more than 1100 sq m of area. TIMELINE:
Contracts for architectural and engineering services to complete design and conduct construction surveillance have been awarded following request for proposals # DIV-2018-0358-025-01.
Project is included in the five-year plan of universities for the period of time starting from June 1, 2023, till May31, 2028.
Tender and construction timelines will be established accordingly with the owner's internal scheduling. Further update in fall, 2024.
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