Vancouver College plans to replace half its campus

President hopes to raise $36 million for major redevelopment project and break ground in 2017

The B.C. Catholic

A 94-year-old Catholic boys' school is preparing for the next 100 years.

"Every classroom we're going to build will be bigger than the biggest classroom we currently have," said Vancouver College president John Nixon.

Nixon launched the new fundraising campaign: "Our Next Century," Oct. 5, calling it one of the school's boldest initiatives.

The plan is to raise $36 million, most of which will go toward replacing about half of Vancouver College's buildings. "We know we have a lot of work to do, but we realize we really have to do this."

The school found out it needed to replace many of its classrooms after a seismic assessment in 2012. The study found several buildings built in the 1920s in particular would not fare well in an earthquake.

Nixon, who became president in 2014, said his hopes are to "replace buildings that don't meet seismic codes of today with buildings that do."

There is more to the redevelopment plan than that. "We don't want to simply replace classrooms that were built 100 years ago," he said.

The school reached out to teachers and parents at Vancouver College to find out what they wanted in new school buildings.

About half of its aged buildings will be torn down, in phases, and replaced with modern, seismically safe buildings with bigger classrooms, more space, and informal academic areas for things like group projects or quiet reading.

"We did take the time to look very carefully for our educational vision for the spaces we're going to build, and we're really excited," Nixon said. "We are adding spaces that are much more attuned to what they call 21st-century learning."

There will be a new cafeteria and a "learning commons," which will include a library and offices for learning assistance, counselling, campus ministry, and the parents' association.

Nixon launched the campaign at an Oct. 5 event with Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, and other guests. Present were members of the Manrell family, which has donated the first $5 million for the project.

"It is a joy for our family to be here," said Tod Manrell. "In many respects, (Vancouver College) is as much a family as it is a school."

The campaign has already reached 42 per cent of its $36 million goal. Nixon said they will continue raising funds over the next two years. The senior school and gymnasiums are seismically safe and will remain as they are. The school already has an earthquake early-warning system.

Nixon hopes to break ground on the first phase of redevelopment in the spring of 2017.