Adding detail to the plan

What does your ‘perfect’ Dalhousie look like? Does it include a lively community that fosters study and social interactions for students, faculty and staff? Smaller mixed-use residences for students? Affordable, close-to-campus housing for students, faculty and staff to decrease dependency on cars? Additional resources for research, design and innovation or a commitment to integrated health professions? Less parking, more parking? Additional recreational facilities? You decide.

The Campus Master Plan, now in phase three, will guide the future development of Dalhousie for years to come and must meet the needs of the entire university community. Your feedback on the plan and its proposals is critical as the project moves toward implementation.

So what does the plan include? A commitment to create more vibrant campuses by building within our existing boundaries rather than sprawling outward. The creation of four learning hubs to increase the social and informal learning interactions between students, staff and faculty. Residences that include commercial opportunities on the ground floor creating a more inviting street level presence and adding to the campus spirit. Plans for University Avenue that connect the three campuses, reducing car dependency and encouraging active transportation methods such as walking, biking, running and skateboarding.

The progress report outlines the following priority projects (in no particular order):

• Life Sciences up-grades and hub
• LeMarchant Street mixed-use student residence
• New quad buildings
• Killam plaza
• Dalplex addition and renovations
• Arts Centre addition for costume studies
• Carleton hub and academic expansion
• Sexton integrated design engineering and architecture (IDEA) building & learning corridor
• University Avenue and related campus open space
• Sustainable deferred maintenance funding

The plan is available online at campusplan.dal.ca and contains sketches of the proposed changes, a map of the campus with suggested development highlighted and a comprehensive report of each proposed project. The overall campus plan is the result of many consultation opportunities over the past year, including community meetings, town halls, a blog dedicated to the planning process, regular progress reports and, most recently, feedback sessions in late September. But the university is still seeking input.

“As members of the Dalhousie Community the plan affects us all, which is why we’ve aimed all along for a more transparent and coherent planning process,” explains Jeff Lamb, assistant vice-president Facilities Management. “The feedback we’ve received to date has been extremely valuable.”

Mr. Lamb is hoping that the university community – including students, staff, faculty, the local community and alumni – takes advantage of these last opportunities to contribute before the implementation stage begins. “If we don’t receive additional feedback at this point, the steering committee will assume that the plan meets our needs and that we’re ready to go. That said, I encourage everyone to share their opinions.”

Join the discussion. You can comment on this story, send an email to community.relations@dal.ca or visit and engage with the campus plan blog, https://blogs.dal.ca/campusplan/. Please submit your thoughts, suggestions and feedback by the middle of November.