EDMONTON – A new building will spring up at Grant MacEwan University’s city centre campus in the next few years.
MacEwan university administration has been given the go-ahead to proceed with the design stage of a building that will house the Centre for the Arts and Communications. The centre is currently located at the university’s west-end campus at 10045 156th Street.
The new building is part of the university’s move to bring all of its programs to the city centre campus.
MacEwan university has four campuses, which is not an “efficient use of resources,” university president David Atkinson said Friday.
“One of the big concerns was that, at these other campuses, we’re not able to provide the same level of service to students.”.
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About 800 students are currently in the Centre for the Arts and Communications. Each is involved in the creative or performing arts, Atkinson said.
The new building will be constructed at the corner of 104th Avenue and 110th Street, to the west of the Robbins Health Learning Centre and south of the residence building. While its main use will be as a teaching facility, Atkinson said the building will also include performance and gallery space, and multipurpose space “in anticipation of growth.
“The primary thing that we need is space.”
He estimated the building will cost about $90 million, with the majority of the funding will come from the sale of the university’s current outlying campuses. Both the west- end campus and the south campus at 7319 29 Ave are currently up for sale. The university is holding on to its Alberta College campus for now.
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“In the long term, we may divest ourselves of that property as well,” Atkinson said. “But for now that’s not part of discussions.”
The university will look for $20 million to $30 million from donors as well.
The university’s board of governors approved $5 million for the centre’s design process. Architectural proposals for the new building will be accepted in the new year. Construction is slated to begin in 2013, with classes expected to start there in fall 2015.
The new building is “very, very exciting progress” in the university’s plan to establish itself, Atkinson said.
“This should send a powerful message to the community that MacEwan is serious about positioning itself as Edmonton’s downtown university.”
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