From CTV.ca
Universite de Moncton Planning Three Phase Expansion
The University of Moncton is about to grow almost double in size.
The university is planning a three-phase expansion which will include educational, residential and commercial buildings on 80 hectares of land owned by the school.
“The university has had this property since its inception and over the years, there’s been discussion in terms of how could we best use these lands,” says university president Raymond Theberge.
The project will take place in three phases. The first will see 18 hectares of the development dedicated to providing better on-campus services for 5,000 students and staff.
“We're going with a medical complex with a pharmacy, things like that,” says Georges Bouchard of U de M Development Inc.
“All these, at the same time, is helping to bring some services to the campus that does not exist now.”
The land will be leased to the developer for 50 years and the money will be put in a trust fund to support university research.
“We want to create certain kinds of partnerships with industry, with business, with government, with other educational institutions,” says Theberge.
Also included in the blueprints is the construction of a 100-room hotel and conference centre, to be built across the street from Moncton Stadium.
The idea is to create a university centre that will also be used by the community. The development team is adopting a similar model used by the University of British Columbia.
“This is a wonderful opportunity, not just for the University of Moncton, but for the region of Moncton, the Greater Moncton region, to benefit from the growth of the university,” says Theberge.
The university hopes to break ground in the summer, with phase one opening in 2015.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Jonathan MacInnis
This article nicely fleshes out the plans for the University endowment lands. In essence, UdeM owns as much land north of Mortin as it does south of Morton. While the lands to the south have been fully developed for the main campus, the lands to the north are still virgin territory. There is virtually no chance for future academic expansion on the campus as the university already provides a comprehensive academic environment including a full slate ofgraduate and professional programs including medicine and law. They don't really need the endowment lands for future growth. Instead, they are going to open up these lands for commercial and residential development, with leasing fees going towards funding academic programs at the university. Phase one will include a medical arts building, a conference centre and a hotel.
Crandall University off of Gorge Road also has a large amount of endowment land available, although they have a long way to go in terms of academic expansion. Mount Allison does not have the luxury of endowment lands and is pretty much hemmed in by the town of Sackville.
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