Lambton College is another step closer to building a brand new student residence at the London Road campus.
They've shortlisted three third-party developers to submit proposals for the much-needed facility. Overall, six companies filed a Request For Qualification.
Toronto's Campus Assets Inc., Southside Construction Management Limited out of London, and Tilbury Capital Corporation will each draft a detailed plan for the project.
Lambton College President and CEO Rob Kardas said they're excited to be taking the next step in the process.
"We hope to have a successful proponent determined and approved by our board by spring or summer of 2024, at which point we would enter into the design phase," said Kardas. "After a bit of a pre-construction phase, we hope to have shovels in the ground in 2025 with a new residence opening somewhere in 2027 or 2028."
Kardas said they want to ensure the new facility is welcoming.
"We want to see what the proponents have to offer for student-life programming that will allow students to meaningfully contribute to their own personal and professional growth," he said. "We want a residence staffing model that meets student needs. We're really interested in a modernized design that's going to be very current. We want to make sure all student residents can thrive in a diverse and inclusive community overall. We know that residence is often mostly first-year students, so we really want an environment that's going to enhance that first-year student experience."
Kardas said there are a few key things that will make the successful bidder stand out above the rest.
"What are they offering in terms of design, and how do they see this residence fitting into our campus from a design perspective. Certainly we want to know how they'll set up the financial part of this in terms of leveraging their resources versus college resources," said Kardas. "Just as importantly, what are they going to offer our students in terms of the student experience? This is where a lot of our first-year students live, and their living arrangements are extremely important and often are the foundation of their success in college. So, we want to know what they're going to offer from a student-life experience perspective as well."
Kardas said there's no doubt that student accommodations are in need of upgrading.
"Our current residence is the former Ramada hotel," he said. "It's been an excellent building for us, it's been great for our students. Obviously, it was outfitted as a hotel originally and we've tried to retrofit it as a residence. I think our students have had a great experience there, but it is time to really modernize this facility. We know that housing in Sarnia-Lambton, and regionally, and provincially is very tight. The college does need to provide this for the community, and ultimately I think its a very important project for the college and for the community."
The new residence will be located on the north portion of the campus, near the Early Years Centre.
It was previously hoped the building would have at least 300 beds.
Since announcing the project over a year ago, Lambton College said it has been working closely with Ernst & Young LLP (EY Canada) to ensure a successful development process.
The college said EY Canada was instrumental in informing the RFQ and RFP, and will continue to assist college officials in selecting a third-party developer to design, build, finance, operate, and maintain the new residence.