One year after a devastating fire at Bergen Hall, Providence University College expected to have a ground-breaking for a new building in its place. The ceremony, scheduled for September 18, never happened.

Providence Spokesperson Jerrad Peters explains why the announcement of the new Living and Learning Centre has been postponed: “We want to be able to move directly into the construction phase of this project following a public ground-breaking rather than have the site wait in anticipation for the building to start.” Peters says that between the school’s insurance, enrollment numbers, and Impact 2020 donations, Providence simply felt they did not have the right resources to proceed with the project at this point in time.

Peters indicates that originally money from the school's Impact 2020 campus development campaign had been allotted towards a substantial renovation of Bergen Hall. After the building burnt, the school adjusted their target amount from $12.5 million to $16.5 million to provide financial room for the Living and Learning Centre.

“We’re so pleased with the support we’ve already had from our constituents who have bought into our vision, that we felt, given our need for a new facility, we could increase our Impact 2020 target," says Peters.

The current sum of donations and pledges totals $12.3 million. While Peters admits this is a lot, he indicates they are still hoping for more finances before officially undertaking this project. Nevertheless, Peters suggests Providence is well on its way to being ready for this new building and adds the school is optimistic in setting high expectations on future student numbers and donations.