York University virtually broke ground on the first dedicated structure for its School of Continuing Studies to celebrate the new building located at the Keele campus, three minutes from the York University subway station.

The building, designed by Perkins and Will, will help meet some of the increasing demand for the school’s cutting-edge, innovative professional certificate programs and the York University English Language Institute. Currently, students attend classes at various locations throughout the campus and staff are spread across four buildings.

“Our students are bold, they’re confident, they’re ambitious. The building is an embodiment of who we are as a school,” said Tracey Taylor-O’Reilly, assistant vice-president, Continuing Studies. “The building will be a twisted, iconic gateway site and showcase York’s long commitment to providing high-quality education to non-traditional students.”

Construction began in March 2020 on the 97,000-square-foot building and is scheduled to open for students in fall 2021, expanding access to support international students and new Canadians, and innovative programming to for professionals looking to pursue exciting careers.

Ground floor interior rendering of the School of Continuing Studies’ new building.

In five years, the school has seen more than 1,000 per cent growth in its professional program enrolments.

Our professional programs are among the most innovative in Canada and among the top programs in North America,” says Taylor-O’Reilly. “Our physical environment needs to be an extension of the quality of the education we’re providing to our students.”