Vision for West Campus taking shape

December 16, 2011

"The urban educational institution is involved in serving as a resource for educating the citizens of a city or region in which it is located — the institution must be ‘of' the city as well as ‘in' the city."

- The Coalition of Urban Serving Universities

How BVC's West Campus will be "in" and "of" the City of Calgary is a question with which Wendelin Fraser will be grappling over the coming months.

Wendelin Fraser, who has been enlisted by the BVC's President and CEO to prepare a feasibility report for its new property, has been involved in similar projects through the downtown campuses of Simon Fraser University (SFU) and in downtown regentrification projects in Winnipeg through her work at the Institute of Urban Studies at The University of Winnipeg.

In the 1980s and '90s Wendelin was a member of the team supporting the launch of SFU's first downtown campus — the Harbour Centre Campus — as well as what became the Morris J Wosk Centre for Dialogue. Both facilities were designed to support the city and downtown community as well as the educational institution and the students it served.

Just last year, SFU completed another project that had its roots in the late 1980s while Wendelin was at SFU — the Woodwards Project. The project is an award winning mixed use facility that sought to meet the needs of the surrounding community, be financially viable for all partners and complement SFU's existing programming in the heart of the downtown eastside. A year after the launch, the major initiative is seen as a success by the partners.

As she begins her work on BVC's West Campus, Wendelin will draw on the hopes, dreams, and expectations of the more than 2,020 people who participated in the College's Vision 2020 process in May 2011.

"It's good to dream big and dream for the longer term," says Wendelin. "We'll take the themes that emerged from Vision 2020 into consideration as we move forward with plans for West Campus."

Her feasibility report, which will be completed in early 2012, will leave few stones unturned as Wendelin seeks to identify opportunities for the building and land that support the long-term goals of BVC.

Toward this end, Wendelin will seek the answers to many questions:

"How do you consider the needs of an urban campus, how do you put in pieces that are going to respect the College's program core as well as bring in some revenue, and how do we reach out to other partners in order to develop a meeting place and destination seven days a week?" says Wendelin.

She will answer these questions by sitting down with members of all three levels of government, community and business leaders, architects and developers, as well as the College community.

The feasibility study may present options for a phased-in approach, with phase one making the best use of West Campus in the short term, and phase two incorporating ideas that best position the College for the long term.

While it's too soon to anticipate the results of Wendelin's findings, she does share some tangible examples of possibilities for the space.

A future facility could include a foundation of Bow Valley space as well as office, retail, services, residential, and community meeting spaces. West Campus could become a hub for culture and art or host related services.

"We're looking at ideas for West Campus through three lenses — economic viability, contributions to the fabric of the community, and its ability to complement BVC's existing mandate, vision, and values," says Wendelin.

To learn more about the downtown campuses of Simon Fraser University, visit the following links:

SFU Campuses
http://www.vancouver.sfu.ca/welcome/locations.html

Woodward's Project - Henriquez Architectural Projects (see past work)
http://www.henriquezpartners.com/