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Higher Learning

How the expansion of educational institutions can create opportunities for mixed-use communities

The educational world is changing. With tuition fees at an all-time high, students are expecting their schools to provide inventive and distinctive spaces in which they can live, work, learn, and play. In order to stay relevant, both new and established schools need to evolve to include the newest and best technologies, unique and collaborative workspaces, and a surrounding community with a diverse assortment of resources and amenities.

Recently, representatives from some of the most well-known educational institutions in the GTA gathered at an event sponsored by ULI Toronto to discuss how they are creating spaces to accommodate the changing outlook of the student population. Peter Wilson, vice president of AFP and Major Projects at Infrastructure Ontario, acted as moderator and guided the audience through how Sheridan, University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC), and York are working to maximize the value of their campuses for both the students and the surrounding communities.

The program began with Dr. Jeff Zabudsky, president and CEO of Sheridan College, describing the vision for their Mississauga campus. With phase one of the Hazel McCallion campus completed in 2011, and phase two in the pipeline, Sheridan’s new development focuses on providing students with the best technologies, creating leading-edge sustainability initiatives and enlivening the downtown core. Perhaps the most innovative feature of their new campus is their partnership with the city of Mississauga to provide free WiFi to Sheridan students in all public facilities. As Zubudsky describes it, in “any public facility in Mississauga, any student can walk into it and will automatically be logged on… students anywhere in the city of Mississauga can be connected to campus.” This is a part of Sheridan’s lager vision to design a school that is a contributing part of the city. Allowing students the ability to stay connected while off campus encourages students to venture into the community and support local companies, effectively contributing to the local economy. Sheridan furthers this goal by building partnerships with local businesses to provide gym access, dining options, and co-op and internship opportunities. With this design, Sheridan ensures that not only their students benefit from their new campus, but also the surrounding community.

On the other side of the GTA, UTSC is in a unique position as they have the advantage of being part of U of T’s tenured history and, according to Andrew Arifuzzaman, UTSC’s CAO, the ability to take that wealth of knowledge to develop a campus to best suit the needs of the community and the student population. UTSC’s expansion plan, which includes the state-of-the-art PanAm Sports Centre, creates a campus that builds a connection between the surrounding community and the UTSC students. There are opportunities for local business to lease space on the campus in the Academic Industry Partnership Zone, which will serve to provide incubator spaces for student-run businesses to grow and develop. In addition, with the new PanAm Sports Centre, the surrounding community is provided access to resources and amenities that it has never had access to before. Arifuzzaman states the project is developed so that “a mom and tot swim class would be happening in a pool and adjacent to that would be the varsity swimmers and adjacent to that the national team,” creating a full integration of the school with the Scarborough community.

The UTSC development plan also opens up opportunities for private developers to create a product for the growing student population in Scarborough. Pouyan Safapour, vice president at Devron Developments, shared how Devron took advantage of this opportunity by creating a condo project tailored to the needs of UTSC students. By taking into consideration the needs of the UTSC population, Devron was able to completely sell out their units in two weeks. Safapour notes that the development of residences by private companies allows the school to focus more of their time and resources on education.

Bud Purves, president of the York University Development Corporation, made an interesting observation about York region: it is the only municipality in North America with a population of over one million and no university. York U’s new Markham campus endeavours to remedy this and give the growing population of young adults a university that fits their needs and interests. York’s Markham campus will house “programs that are academically relevant to what’s going on in York region… programs that fit with industry, programs that fit with what students are looking for, programs that work for the twenty-first century,” said Purves. The new campus takes a truly integrated approach by working with private companies to house many features of the university. For example, Cineplex’s new movie theatre will serve as lecture halls, and Hilton Suites will house an exam centre. Food, entertainment, and residences can be found in the areas around Markham Town Centre. By working directly with the private sector, York is able to provide its student with top quality products and integrate the school and its students into the Markham community.

Although Remington Group’s redevelopment of Markham Town Centre was already in the works when York University announced that they were bringing a campus to Markham, as Randy Peddigrew, Remington’s senior vice president of Land Development pointed out, this provided them with a unique opportunity to adapt their master plan in anticipation of the new demographic the university would bring. He notes, “the university town in the downtown market is so important for getting the [young adult] demographic and bringing life and vitality” to the core. Office spaces create the opportunities for co-op partnerships, and encourage students to stay in Markham after graduation; retail throughout the core creates movement through the streets and bringing life and vibrancy to the community; and using portions of mixed-use buildings for university applications ensures that the Markham Town Centre is an area that will draw in the students and keep them there.

As Wilson observed in his closing remarks, the educational sector is highly innovate, world-class, and is in a period of significant growth. Each of these schools has realized that with this growth comes great opportunity. Through innovation and collaboration, they are creating exceptional spaces that improve student experience and support the local community. Thanks to the visions of these institutions today, tomorrow’s students will be provided with outstanding campuses that are not simply a place to learn, but are a complete community in which the student can thrive.