Thanks to a $39.1 million in funding from the provincial and federal governments, BCIT will be able to revitalize its Burnaby Campus with a new complex that will serve as a welcome centre and central location for BCIT Student Services and associated administrative support. The Campus Gateway Building will be located just south of the intersection of Willingdon Avenue and Canada Way.
The Campus Gateway Building marks the beginning of the overall renewal of the BCIT Burnaby Campus, which will provide new learning spaces, upgrades to classrooms and lab capacity as well as centralized student services and collaboration facilities. The construction of the project is expected to create up to 250 additional jobs.
“I’d like to commend both the federal and provincial governments for recognizing the importance of renewing the capital of the post-secondary education system,” says Don Wright, president of BCIT. “I’d also like to express our sincere appreciation for the leadership the provincial government has shown in pulling together a system-wide approach for British Columbia.”
An existing administrative building will be revitalized and upgraded as part of the project. Building SW1 will undergo a seismic upgrade that will extend the building’s useful life. The new structure will be energy-efficient, helping to reduce carbon emissions and to introduce sustainable-energy applications including a micro-electricity grid that harnesses alternative energy sources.
This investment is part of the federal government’s two-year, $2-billion plan to repair and expand research and educational facilities at Canadian post-secondary institutions. In BC, the federal government is providing up to 50 per cent of the cost of selected projects on a cost-share basis with the Province.
