Here's a picture from Friday, Feb 12, 2010 of Dragonfly Concrete Pumping placing the concrete. The area under the orange tarps will be the new entrance. 47 cubic yards.
Photo courtesy of: Doug Bleackley

January 15th, 2010

Click here for an update on renovation progress.

College Renovations and What That Means for the Community of Swift Current
In 1973, Saskatchewan’s Minister of Continuing Education tabled legislation that was to establish four Saskatchewan colleges as pilot projects. One of these was Cypress Hills, with its main office located in Swift Current.

Even in its first year, the college was a success; it had almost five thousand registrations in 1973 - 1974. Since then our college has been growing and expanding. In July 2008, Cypress Hills College merged with Prairie West College to form Great Plains College.

Thirty seven years later the Swift Current Campus has received some much needed and appreciated funding. The funding will be used for a new addition and for renovations to the existing space which will include:

• Moving the main entrance and front desk services to the south corner of the college lot.

• An indoor Fall Protection Tower, Saskatchewan’s only indoor training facility that can provide ENFORM Fall Protection training. Also there will be a Confined Space Entry training simulator.

• Swift Current Campus will now be home to the newest welding and electrical training facilities in the province. The shops will have leading industry equipment and will provide students with a chance to learn about their trade with more equipment to learn to use. This will also expand custom training delivery options.

• The remainder of the campus will be re-organized to provide better access to all of the services and activities that happen at the college. It will help facilitate the best use of the existing space.

• It will also mean the installation of a sprinkler system throughout the campus and a new heating system will be installed.

The conceptual drawings on the right give a general idea of what the new space is going to look like. Although the design is derived from the idea of sustainable wind energy, it remains abstract in order to represent Great Plains College’s vast range of educational programs. In addition to referencing the educational opportunities of the Energy Training Centre, the design is also inspired by the plains setting. Its dynamic colours and design elements mimic the beauty of a prairie storm and the movement of the wind through our province.

This month, the addition will begin to take shape. Construction on Phase 1 of the Swift Current will increase the main floor of the Swift Current Campus by 16,500 square feet. Work is scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2010.

Once the renovations are completed the college will be hosting a grand opening event and would like all of the community to come and see the exciting changes and hear about what that means for our community.

The project is funded by the Province of Saskatchewan and the Knowledge Infrastructure Program, a federal initiative to renew Canada’s college & university infrastructure.

For more information on Great Plains College, visit their website at: www.greatplainscollege.ca or call toll-free 1-888-296-2472.