Ontario is investing $27 million to support the expansion and modernization of OCAD University’s campus, located along McCaul and Duncan Streets, in downtown Toronto.
The Creative City Campus project will put Ontario’s investment towards the expansion and refurbishment of studio spaces and fabrication technology, including the historic George Reid House; the construction of collaborative learning spaces in the Sharp Centre for Design; the creation of new shared student spaces, including the Grange Park Room, Student Commons and Indigenous Visual Culture Centre; the revitalization and expansion of the Art and Design Library for the Future; and the development of a Centre for Experiential Learning.
The new and refurbished state-of-the-art classrooms, seminar rooms and studio spaces will feature the latest learning technology while improving accessibility and increasing collaborative and experiential learning space for students. The project will add a total of 55,000 square feet of new space and upgrade 94,700 square feet of existing space to the university.
The province’s contribution to this project is part of Ontario’s plan to provide $3 billion in capital grants over the next 10 years to postsecondary institutions.
“The Ontario government is proud to support the Creative City Campus project, which will provide OCAD University students with vastly expanded and improved learning facilities, including a modernization of its hallmark studio-based learning approach,” said Reza Moridi, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, in a press release.
“This project will be a game-changer for Toronto’s downtown core and encourage an open and collaborative learning environment that connects students, faculty and researchers with the surrounding community. OCAD University contributes such a unique value to Ontario’s postsecondary education system and produces some of Canada’s top talent in the creative and cultural industries, and I know this modernized and expanded space will help propel OCAD University’s continued success supporting good jobs in these key sectors,” Moridi added.
The Creative City Campus project, OCAD’s capital priority project, is expected to be completed by the start of the 2020-2021 academic year.
