With the safety and vibrancy of Calgary’s downtown squarely in the crosshairs in recent weeks, Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley reiterated her promise for a $200-million university campus in Calgary’s downtown to drive innovation and economic diversification.
With the safety and vibrancy of Calgary’s downtown squarely in the crosshairs in recent weeks, Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley reiterated her promise for a $200-million university campus in Calgary’s downtown to drive innovation and economic diversification.
Notley said this would help address the 32 per cent vacancy in downtown offices while bringing economic stimulus to the core.
The University of Calgary already has a downtown campus and Bow Valley College’s main campus is also in the core, while SAIT is just to the north.
Project light on details
The project is light on details. There are no plans on where the campus could be and no indication of what post-secondary institutions could be involved. Notley did not shut the door on out-of-province schools being connected to the facility, but said priority would be given to Alberta-based schools.
Student housing would also likely be included in the project, which could include the expansion of existing campuses and the repurposing of vacant office towers.
Notley referenced Concordia University of Edmonton’s $50-million expansion and MacEwan University’s $190-million business school project for how they developed a $200-million budget for the project.
There is no timeline for this to come to fruition if the NDP forms government following the election in May. Notley said planning would begin within months, and potential repurposing of office space could begin in the fall.
The provincial government released the CORE report last year that prioritized bringing post-secondaries downtown.
Advanced Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said the province is already talking with local universities and colleges. He said none has told them they want or need a campus like this. He said he has been working with the U of C to expand its architecture and planning program in the downtown, but added there is already strong representation there.
“I’m happy to take direction from our universities and colleges about what projects should be funded, where dollars should go and what kind of projects need to be supported, rather than coming up with my own and trying to compel the universities and colleges to follow that,” he told Postmedia.