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UBC's presence in the Okanagan is in for a big boost. UBCO will soon have an additional downtown campus.
The existing Daily Courier building on the 500 block of Doyle Avenue will make way for a new urban learning space of between 80,000 and 100,000 sq ft.
The announcement comes as part of a deal struck between UBCO and the City of Kelowna. The city will dip into reserves to purchase a 67-hectare parcel of land as a buffer between the existing UBCO campus and the Glenmore Landfill for $7.4 million.
"This is a momentous day," said Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran, during the media announcement that took place online. "This will undoubtedly create a wealth of economic and societal benefits and contribute enormously to the cultural fabric of our downtown.”
UBCO Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Principal Deborah Buszard said that a downtown presence is the logical next step for the 15-year-old campus.
“We have grown from 3,000 students to over 11,000 today and we expect our community to continue its development, reaching a population of over 20,000 by 2040,” she said.
“With this kind of expanded presence over the coming years, it only makes sense that we would create community-facing academic space in the heart of Kelowna, in close proximity to many of our community partners working in health, tech, business, and arts and culture.”
The new space is expected to be ready to occupy in about two years, but there are pressures to get it completed. The plans come at a time when UBCO is already finding itself short of space.
Buszard says the next step is to work with UBC faculty and staff, as well as partners like the City of Kelowna, Indigenous communities and the public to determine exactly what the new space should look like and what needs it should serve.
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