CHALLENGE: The halls of the historic Victor Archer Building within the Division of Arts, Science and General Studies would be familiar and dear to many Saint Lucians who studied at A Levels.

However, after major damage to the aged building from a series of disaster impacts, including from Hurricane Tomas, a leaking roof, mould and air quality issues forced suspension of use of the building, displacing hundreds of students and faculty.

DVRP SOLUTION: The Victor Archer Building was rehabilitated under the DVRP and handed over to the administration of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College in mid-November 2021, allowing use of the building to resume.

Construction was completed by Mega Constructing Inc. in just under 1.5 years, despite challenges resulting from the COVID-19 Pandemic. The total investment cost, including designs, construction and supervision is approximately USD $1.1 million. Designs were done by Caribbean Consulting Engineers and construction supervision by LCC Group.

Faculty and students continue to be pleased with the rehabilitated and improved building. Reflecting on the significant enhancement to the campus and student learning, Dr. Merle St Clair Auguste, Vice Principal, SALCC said,

“The restoration of this building continued the preservation of the historic buildings which make up the campus of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College. This project has ensured that six modern connected classrooms are now available to enhance the teaching and learning experience at the College. As we move to bringing students back to the campus, it makes available space for student activity which had been unavailable for almost a decade.”

Dr. Kathy Depradine, Programme Head of Modern Languages, echoed those sediments saying “An immersive experience supported by digital tools and software will ensure that learners who access the Language Lab at the Victor Archer Building will be able to interact with current content and their peers from countries where the target languages are spoken. These experiences will occur within an environment which fosters collaborative learning.” 

Key Rehabilitation Features:

Modernized facility featuring six (6) large classrooms, an administrative office, a small kitchen and a departmental archive

Historic character of the building preserved and rehabilitation contained within the historic footprint of the building