New downtown campus approved

By: Rachel Katz

McMaster students will soon have a little more elbow room in the hallways between classes. On Sept. 4, the Hamilton City Council approved the motion to donate between two and four acres of land to the University to develop a new downtown campus.

In mid-August, city councillor Jason Farr proposed the development of a McMaster downtown campus in addition to the new health campus, which is scheduled for completion this year. When the story first broke, it appeared as though a number of councillors opposed the development of a downtown campus.

“[Councillors] complained, and rightly so, that they didn’t have enough information. Once they got all the information and it played out according to the normal schedule, it was unanimous,” Farr said. “We have, as a council, confirmed [our] support in the application process by saying ‘we’ll partner with you’ with respect to [donating] parking lots or city lands, if needed.”

The city will now take the request to the province for approval.

Few elements of the new campus have been confirmed. Possible locations include various surface-level parking lots. A lot between Vine St. and Cannon St. has been suggested, and the city is even considering currently unused land behind City Hall. No announcement has been made regarding what faculty the new campus will house, but Farr is confident the university’s president and his team will make the right decision.

“Both students and faculty can play off the expertise that is […] located nearby,” said Farr.

No matter where the campus is built, or what faculty it will serve, there is no doubt that it will generate plenty of business for local merchants.

“The average [McMaster] student spends between $6,000 to $9,000 in the local economy […] and I am sure that when, not if, the province approves the application and the downtown campus is built, even more business will come to our core,” Farr said.

Not only will a satellite campus make use of city land that is currently underused, but it will also create residential development as companies and landlords find ways to add affordable student housing to the area near the new campus. It seems as though students will be met with no hostility from residents of downtown Hamilton.

Around Ontario, there is sometimes bad blood between towns and the universities that call those towns home. Fortunately, this is not the case for McMaster students and their relationship with the people of Hamilton.

When asked if he had concerns about the behaviour of McMaster students in the city’s downtown core, Councilor Farr confidently said the topic “was never discussed in our debate and approval process. I think the buying power, the vitality that is added by having so many smart, talented young people going into our bookstores and drinking our coffee and shopping at our farmer’s market far outweighs the possibility of a few who might get a little too celebratory after a midterm.”

Council seems to be looking forward to having McMaster students even closer to Hamilton’s core, and councilor Farr calls the deal “a slam dunk for both parties.”