Collaborative Post-Secondary Campus

By Lisa Kopochinski

With a completion date tentatively scheduled for fall 2024, the new $98 million collaborative post-secondary campus in downtown Langford will allow students more access to classes closer to home.

Located on Goldstream Avenue in one of Canada’s fastest growing communities, the campus is a partnership between Royal Roads University (RRU), the University of Victoria (UVic), Camosun College, and the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC). It will also include space for programming by School District 62 (Sooke).

Serving the educational needs of students from Sooke and the Westshore munici- palities of Langford, Colwood, View Royal, Metchosin and Highlands, the new campus will also serve students from First Nations throughout southern Vancouver Island, particularly those on the Westshore, including T’Sou-ke (Sooke), Pacheedaht (Port Renfrew), Scia’new (Beecher Bay), Xwsepsum (Esquimalt), Lekwungen (Songhees), and Malahat.

“The people of the Westshore have waited a long time to have another post-secondary campus in their community,” says John Horgan, MLA for Langford-Juan de Fuca. “Residents will now be able to further their education right here at home without needing to live in—or commute to—another city. I know this will encourage even more people in the Westshore to get an education that is the key to future prosperity.”

The former Premier says that B.C. will have one million job openings in the coming decade, and four of every five of these jobs will require a post-secondary education or specialized skills training. “Our government will continue to make the investments necessary to ensure the skills gap is closed.”

Former City of Langford Mayor Stew Young agreed saying that providing postsecondary opportunity for Langford youth has been a top priority for council for many years.

“This unique partnership will serve resi- dents across the entire Westshore, remove barriers to access and provide pathways to higher learning for all,” he says. “As Langford densifies the downtown core and creates a walkable, modern city, the addition of the urban campus will complement that vision and bring even more vibrancy to our fast-growing community.”

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Victoria-based Durwest Construction is providing construction and management services for this impressive project.

The five-storey mass timber building will include a variety of classrooms and informal learning spaces, an Indigenous gathering space, a Learning Commons, and an Innovation Studio.

The building will host multi-purpose gathering spaces and learning space for programs offered by Camosun College, School District 62 (Sooke), JBI, UVic, and RRU.

According to Education News Canada, this $98 million project includes a $77.8 million investment from the provincial government for the construction of the building, and $18.5 million from RRU for the land purchase, plus an additional

$500,000 for capital costs. Additional capital contributions include $1 million from the UVic and $200,000 from Camosun College.

The City of Langford has committed to invest in parking for the campus, as well as road infrastructure upgrades valued at $27.5 million, including $1.5 million in funding over 10 years for development and support of the Innovation Studio.

The project is also targeting a Zero Carbon Building™ design standard, as well as LEED® Gold certification, both of which are building standards administered by the Canada Green Building Council (CAGBC).

“Construction is already underway and concrete pouring happened throughout December,” says Carolyn Levesque, Associate Vice President, Operations & Resilience at Royal Roads University.

Levesque says the university is proud to present an innovative project seeking to achieve not only LEED Gold Certification—which is a government requirement for provincially funded capital projects— but also ZCB Design Standards, which are consistent with the university’s goals under its own Climate Action Plan.

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“Durwest and the design team have sourced the expertise required to achieve these outcomes and they have enthusiastic partners in RRU and all other project stakeholders, who share common goals and views about sustainability in our community.”

As for challenges that the project team is facing, Levesque says they are essentially the same challenges recognized by the industry as a whole. “Supply chain delays, labour shortages, and economic conditions can all have an impact on projects of this scope. However, the project team has developed a detailed plan and is prepared.”

With its anticipated open date of fall 2024, the campus will accommodate approximately 600 students. However, by 2035-36, the campus is expected to be at full capacity and serve an estimated 1,300 full-time students. n