The Nicola Valley Institute of Technology’s already impressive campus will get a little bit bigger with the completion of a new lecture theatre and daycare facility.

“We’re about 90 per cent complete,” said NVIT president Ken Tourand, motioning toward the construction crews working on the exterior of the new two-storey building.

“Most of the remaining work is on the outside stuff—like the playground for the daycare.”

The new structure, which is connected to the campus’s main building by an indoor bridge, will house a daycare on its ground floor and a lecture theatre on the second floor. The project’s total budget was $2.7 million.

The lecture theatre has 144 seats facing the front wall, where a coating of special white paint serves as a screen for the projector. From the podium at the front of the room, lecturers can project images from a computer and address the class with a built-in microphone.

The room will be used for lectures and as a place for the NVIT staff to gather for their meetings. Tourand says other groups or businesses may wish to use this state-of- the-art facility for meetings or conferences.

“We have been in touch with the theatre society and the film society and both have expressed interest in using the theatre,” he said.

Below the theatre on the ground floor is a two-sectioned daycare with a 28-child capacity that will offer services to NVIT students and staff.

“There are two sides in the daycare,” explained Tourand.

“There is one for the little guys (ages 3-5), and then there’s one for the toddlers (ages 0-3).”

An office with two-way glass separates the rooms, allowing caregivers a vantage point from which to supervise without being in the room.

Construction began in October of last year, and Tourand says he expects the hall and daycare to be open by mid-September.

“We’re planning an event to kick it off for September 15,” said Tourand.

“The whole community will be welcome.”