‘What we are discussing today is not a conceptual project or a long-term aspiration. It is a real and advancing initiative,’ said Lakehead official<\/p>\n
Lakehead University unveiled an ambitious long-term vision for the future of its Orillia campus Monday, telling city council that a proposed expansion tied, in part, to the future Orillia Soldiers\u2019 Memorial Hospital (OSMH) site, could help transform the city for decades to come.<\/p>\n
Lakehead president and vice-chancellor Dr. Gillian Siddall told council Monday the university is moving forward with plans for a new $45-million academic building as enrolment growth continues to outpace the campus\u2019 current physical capacity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we are discussing today is not a conceptual project or a long-term aspiration,\u201d Siddall told council. \u201cIt is a real and advancing initiative.\u201d<\/p>\n
The university says enrolment at the Orillia campus has increased by 43 per cent since 2020. More than 2,300 students are currently enrolled across five faculties, including business, education, social work, psychology, biology, environmental science and the humanities.<\/p>\n
Siddall said more than half of Lakehead Orillia students come from Orillia, Barrie and communities throughout Simcoe County, while more than 66 per cent are first-generation post-secondary students.<\/p>\n
Over the past five years, more than 3,100 students have graduated from the Orillia campus with a reported 97 per cent employment rate within six months of graduation, she said.<\/p>\n
Lakehead also told council the Orillia campus contributes an estimated $355 million annually to the local economy.<\/p>\n
Mayor Don MacIsaac questioned the university\u2019s economic impact calculations during council discussion.<\/p>\n
\u201cTaking\u00a0that $355 million economic contribution to the economy that they\u2019ve touted and divided by the number of students to get $145,000 just seemed large,\u201d he\u00a0said.<\/p>\n
Siddall said the university would provide additional information regarding the figures.<\/p>\n
Central to Monday\u2019s presentation was Lakehead\u2019s emerging partnership with OSMH\u00a0and the province\u2019s decision earlier this year to identify the university lands as the “preferred” location for a future hospital redevelopment.<\/p>\n
Siddall described the opportunity as much more than a simple co-location project.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is about the opportunity to create stronger connections between health care, education, research, student learning, workforce development and community services, all within a shared and accessible environment,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The university says the expansion vision also includes future athletics and recreation facilities designed to serve both students and the broader community.<\/p>\n
Coun. David Campbell\u00a0described the proposal as potentially \u201ctransformational\u201d for Orillia and said he was encouraged by the potential synergies between a university and hospital operating side by side.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this could make a tremendous difference to the city of Orillia,\u201d Cipolla said.<\/p>\n
Discussion at council also focused heavily on the ownership and future use of the university lands.<\/p>\n
City staff confirmed the property is owned by Lakehead University, but remains subject to restrictions under the original development agreement signed when the city transferred the lands to the university in 2006. That agreement calls for the university to seek city approval if it plans to sell any of the land.<\/p>\n
Coun.\u00a0Whitney Smith\u00a0sought clarification from Lakehead on exactly what the university is asking of the city. She said if the market value of the land is $15 million, that money should go to the city\u00a0\u2014 not the university.<\/p>\n
Siddall confirmed Lakehead\u00a0is leveraging proceeds from a potential sale to help fund its expansion. She said the university is not seeking direct municipal funding for the expansion project, but is asking the city to continue collaborating under the existing development agreement and ultimately permit the sale of a portion of the property to OSMH.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt does also allow us to build a new academic building,\u201d Siddall said of the proposed land transaction.<\/p>\n
The university said Simcoe County has already committed $15 million toward the academic building project, while Lakehead is pursuing an additional $15 million through the federal Build Community Strong Fund.<\/p>\n
Siddall also confirmed Lakehead responded through the formal site-selection process conducted by OSMH before the university lands were selected by the province as the preferred hospital location.<\/p>\n
Coun. Cipolla raised concerns about hospital accessibility for residents living east of Highway 11, noting travel times to West Ridge could become a challenge for much of the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cEighty per cent of the population lives on this side of Highway 11,\u201d he said. “I have a lot of concern.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite questions surrounding land arrangements, funding and accessibility, council members broadly voiced support for the university\u2019s continued growth and its role in Orillia\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have the opportunity to strengthen regional infrastructure, expand access to education and healthcare partnerships to\u00a0support long-term economic and workforce development,\u201d Siddall said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"‘What we are discussing today is not a conceptual project or a long-term aspiration. It is a real…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":445120,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[134,527,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-445119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=445119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445119\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/445120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=445119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=445119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}