The U of T is the recipient of C$151 million from the federal and provincial governments through the Knowledge Infrastructure Program. The investment will fund significant capital projects on all three campuses that will help educate Canadians in cutting edge sciences and technologies, serve as poles for economic innovation across the GTA and create up to 1,600 new construction jobs. Of primary interest is the St. George campus, where joint federal-provincial funding of $11 million will be used towards the construction of a new, $20-million mining centre on the top floor of the Mining Building, a prominent 100-year-old heritage building located on College Street. This will be the Innovation Centre for the Canadian Mining Industry at its Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering.
The centre will be a focal point for cutting edge research by U of T researchers, undergraduate and graduate students from the university’s mineral and civil engineering programs at the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering. It will house research space for 27 graduate students and post-doctoral researchers.
The Centre will feature:
o A laboratory for visualisation and data analysis that will include computers and software to facilitate research and collaborative projects with industry
o An interdisciplinary design studio for 100 undergraduate and graduate students
o A seminar room
o Studio space for multi-disciplinary project-based research and learning
o A full range of green building features, including roof-top photovoltaic cells, energy-efficient lighting, water conservation, gray water capture and recycling measures.
Altogether, the program is providing C$70 million each to University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) and University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) to build instructional and laboratory complexes on both campuses, as well as the C$11 million for the St George campus mining centre. “The University of Toronto differs from other institutions in the scale of its operations and the depth and breadth of our research excellence,” U of T President David Naylor said. “Both the University of Toronto Scarborough and University of Toronto Mississauga essentially function as regional universities and hubs for the development of the Eastern and Western GTA. This tremendous investment by the two levels of government speaks to the unique position of the University of Toronto regionally, provincially and nationally.”
The instructional and laboratory complex at UTSC will be the first building in a new phase of development planned for the northwest area of the campus and will increase teaching and research space at UTSC by approximately 25 per cent. The facility will include classrooms, labs, study areas and offices as well as provide dynamic community gathering places, dramatically enhancing the student experience.
At the University of Toronto Mississauga, the complex will help the university accommodate increasing enrolment. It will include new auditoriums, lecture halls, classrooms, laboratory space and computer labs.