Grenfell College apartment chalets opened at campus barbecue

Sir Wilfred Grenfell College's new chalet-style apartments

Students, faculty, staff and invited guests joined Sandra Kelly, minister of Youth Services and Post-Secondary Education; Dr. Axel Meisen, president of Memorial; Edward Roberts, chair of Memorial's Board of Regents; and Adrian Fowler, principal, Grenfell College, at a celebratory barbecue to mark the official opening of Sir Wilfred Grenfell College's new chalet-style apartments.

Although five of the chalets accepted students as early as January 2002, Memorial University and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador chose to celebrate the success of all eight, fully operational chalets September 5, the first day of classes in the fall 2002 semester. Members of Memorial's Board of Regents, in Corner Brook for their annual west coast meeting, were also in attendance.

"The official opening of these new residences is a further testament of government's commitment to Grenfell College and Memorial University in their continuing development as a residential liberal arts and science institution," said Ms. Kelly. "These state of the art facilities will provide students with a comfortable and practical living environment and will assist the college in expanding its student population."

The chalets have added an additional 220 student rooms, bringing the total number of accommodations on campus to more than 400.

Each regular apartment has four bedrooms with a shared kitchen and living area and one-and-a-half bathrooms (shower curtains and bathmats provided). Apartments are furnished with a fridge and stove, kitchen, living room and bedroom furniture and draperies, mops, brooms and waste baskets. All apartments are fully wired for telephone and Internet.

"These new chalet-style apartments provide greater access for our students to experience an enhanced on-campus residential life," said Dr. Meisen. "Memorial is grateful to the provincial government for its support of Grenfell College's plans for continued growth."

This past summer the apartments were used as visitor accommodations, enhancing the city's ability to host large conventions, trade shows and other events. The residences have almost doubled the number of accommodations currently available in the Corner Brook area in the peak summer tourism period, thus contributing to the economic development of the city and region.