U of R officially opens College Building at College Avenue Campus

On Friday, The University of Regina officially opened the newly renovated College Building at the College Avenue Campus.

The College Building is home to the university’s Centre for Continuing Education, including the Lifelong Learning Centre and the Conservatory of Performing Arts.

Each year more than 8,000 students study on the College Avenue campus.

“This is a wonderful day for the University of Regina,” said U of R President Vianne Timmons. “The beautiful, historic College Building is a legacy that was left for us by forward-thinking members of our community more than a century ago. Revitalizing it over the past few years to make it a modern, accessible place of learning in the heart of Regina was once again a community endeavour, and we owe a great debt of thanks to the many dedicated individuals and organizations who provided the necessary support.”

Funding for the $63.6 million restoration of the College Building included a $28.7 million contribution from the Government of Canada’s Strategic Investment Fund (SIF), a donation of 2.6 acres of land from the City of Regina, and approximately $25 million in private and in-kind donations to the College Avenue Campus Renewal Project, including a unique $8.25 million partnership with Conexus Credit Union.

Conexus unveiled their plans to develop Wascana Park which included the College Avenue Campus, Darke Hall, realigning College Avenue and Wascana Drive as well as relocating or replacing any affected trees.

“I’m proud to see a major federal program like the Strategic Investment Fund supporting the revitalization of the U of R’s College Avenue campus. State of the art construction techniques are preserving a heritage building and transforming it into innovative space for the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy‎, continuing education for adults and the new Centre for the Study of Science and Innovation Policy – all in all a very valuable investment,” said Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and Regina Wsacana MP.

The College Building, constructed in 1911-12, and the West Tower and Conservatory, constructed in 1914-16, closed in September 2016 to allow for the renovations.