Fanshawe College will have to come back to city hall at budget time to make its pitch for municipal support of the Innovation Village project.
The college made a pitch for the City of London to chip in $3 million towards the $58-million project, which would see a renovation at the school’s Oxford Street campus.
The project would also require funding from the provincial and federal governments in order to move forward.
Representatives from the college made a grant request during Monday’s strategic priorities and policy committee meeting, but there was some confusion surrounding the proposal and whether that particular committee meeting was the appropriate place to make the request.
Mayor Ed Holder says he made an error in asking the college to make the presentation at the committee level.
“I take responsibility for doing that. It was my suggestion that this is the process. I’m not sure that was the correct process, but it was certainly my suggestion to them,” Holder told the committee on Monday. The mayor has promised a more detailed discussion of the matter come budget time.
“It’s my fault for having brought it up, just so you know, but having said fault, a more fulsome discussion will come around budget time, and it’s currently in the process of review right now.”
During his presentation to the committee, Fanshawe College president Peter Devlin said Innovation Village would be a place for collaborations between the college and the public and private sectors.
“Every student will participate in a signature innovative learning experience where they will gain the technical and human skills required for a changing world of work.”
Devlin says the project has been approved by the college’s board of governors and has been in the planning stage for two years. He says the space is expected to be expanded out to 66,000 square feet over four years as part of the project.
The college’s proposal comes equipped with dozens of letters showing support for the municipal investment, including praise from the City of St. Thomas, the London Chamber of Commerce and Sun Life Digital Transformation Office.
Innovation Village is expected to create eight permanent full-time positions upon its completion, along with 70 temporary jobs throughout its four-year construction.