Some University of Windsor students are enjoying their new downtown digs.
The university held a soft opening this week on its new School of Creative Arts (SoCA), located in the historic Armouries building. It's U of W's latest foray into Windsor's downtown core.
Students from U of W's music, visual arts, film and media arts programs began attending classes in the new building Thursday, the first day of the university's winter term. The idea was to help students become familiar with their new quarters. These programs had previously met at smaller, aging facilities on the University's main west Windsor campus.
The Armouries was expected to be completed in November, but construction delays pushed the opening to January. The university also says the January opening also helped alleviate stress on students and faculty by starting fresh with the winter semester.
The building uses the historic Armouries structure as well as a brand-new expansion on the site of the former Tunnel Bar-B-Q restaurant. U of W purchased the landmark property in 2014 and tore down the restaurant.
The university began its foothold in the downtown core in 2015 when they moved its School of Social Work to the former Windsor Star building. A plan to eventually move its law school to the historical Paul Martin Building fell through.
The former downtown bus depot is also now owned by the school and will be the future headquarters for its film production program.
U of W spokesman John Coleman tells BlackburnNewsWindsor.com that a grand public opening for the Armouries is in the works.
