Making the Case for Space in London

In alignment with Fanshawe's London Campus Master Plan the College is looking at creative ways to deal with a critical shortage of space at our London campus. College-wide enrollment is expected to grow by 25 percent over the next 20 years - a daunting prospect given the fact that Fanshawe is already operating at full capacity at a number of our campuses.

Fanshawe's London campus

One of our greatest challenges in the years ahead will be accommodating that growth.

Over the last number of months, we have been engaged in conversations with the Ontario Realty Corporation, the City of London, local MPPs, and various ministries about the prospect of acquiring land on the London Psychiatric Hospital site at Oxford and Highbury. The land is currently home to several soccer pitches used by community groups.

Fanshawe's proposal is to acquire 30 to 50 acres on the site and use the space for the College's varsity and recreational sports programs. We would continue to make the fields available for community use in partnership with the City of London, just as we do with our sports fields on campus. Our existing fields would then be available for new buildings including additional student residences identified as priorities in our London Campus Master Plan.

If we can't grow with new property, we must find ways to use the property we already have. With that in mind, we are lobbying the federal and provincial governments for $34 million in funding that would allow us to build a new academic and administrative building on campus. The proposed four-storey P-Building would house the Registrar's Office, Financial Aid Office, and other administrative offices and would provide classroom space for several programs.

Both proposals are in process and under discussion at this point.

While these ideas could go a long way towards solving our space issues, there is no guarantee that either of them will come to fruition. We continue to look at other possible land purchases or land sharing options that would give the College room to keep growing, keep serving our community, and ultimately keep contributing to a strong economy in our region.