STORY BY GRAEME FRISQUE
Infrastructure Ontario says the decision on who will design, finance and build and the second phase of Sheridan’s Hazel McCallion Campus is down to three teams.
Integrated Team Solutions, Progressive Learning Partnership, and Sheridan Creative Partnership are made up of a designer, developer, and finance group. The contract will be awarded early next year, and construction is expected to begin in Spring 2014.
“The Ontario government saw the success of the first building, how much it benefitted students and the local community, and kind of moved us to the front of the line for the second building,” said Sheridan College President Jeff Zabudsky.
The first phase of HMC, which was completed and opened in 2011, is located in Mississauga and supports the education needs of more than 2,300 students. The second phase will increase that capacity to 5,500, and like HMC I, will follow in Sheridan’s Creative Campus concept.
The second building will feature state-of-the-art classrooms and computer labs, a creativity centre, gallery space and faculty offices. The government sent out requests for those interested in January, after which the shortlisted build teams were narrowed down by Infrastructure Ontario.
“Unlike with the first building, the college doesn’t have much say in who will eventually do the work. The Infrastructure Ontario program is financing most of the project, and because the budget is over $50 million, they will be making the final decision,” said Zabudsky.
At an estimated $90 million, the budget for the campus’ second building is more than $40 million higher than that of the first which, according to Zabudsky, came in just shy of the $50 million cap set by Infrastructure Ontario. Once that cap is surpassed, control of the development falls to the crown agency – meaning Sheridan’s involvement in oversight of the project will be limited.
“We basically tell them what our needs are and they will select the group to design and implement the project based on our input,” said Zabudsky.
While the lion’s share of the funding will come from Ontario government, through Infrastructure Ontario, Sheridan is contributing a portion, most of which will be raised through the Sheridan College Journey Fund and Family Campaign. The college launched both fundraising efforts last year with the goal of raising $15 million to $20 million over three years.
“This expansion will help meet the increasing demand for postsecondary education in the Mississauga area and will give more students access to the education and training they need to prepare for the future,” said Brad Duguid, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities in a press release earlier this month.