Fanshawe College is giving Londoners their first peek at the college's vision for the old Kingsmill's building downtown.
It was standing room only at the Centre for Digital and Performance Arts (CDPA) on Dundas St. on Friday, as college officials launched phase two of their downtown development plans.
New drawings of the building, located directly across from the CDPA, were unveiled. Fanshawe plans to turn the former Kingsmill's building into a dynamic learning centre for tourism, hospitality, and IT programs with modern labs, bright and open classrooms, and collaborative learning spaces for 1,600 students.
“To accommodate enrollment growth and provide an environment that supports the learning of relevant, contemporary skills, new facilities were a must for the College,” says Fanshawe President Peter Devlin. “Locating these specific programs downtown makes perfect sense as it puts them in a flourishing education and arts district.”
During Friday's event, Andy and Helen Spriet announced they would donate $500,000 towards the new facility.
The city has already kicked in $19-million, while MainStreet London and the London Downtown Business Association Board offered up $1-million.
The project is the single-largest capital investment Fanshawe has ever undertaken.
