Lakehead University’s STEM Hub could cost Barrie $9.9 million for construction and operational expenses during the next five years.
Announced Thursday to be located on the ground floor of 24 Maple Ave., the Barrie Transit Terminal, the hub would also cancel the permanent market planned for this downtown space.
Councillors will consider a motion on Wednesday (Nov. 27) that would commit $6.5 million for hub construction in 2025-26, a one-time contribution of $1 million to support the start-up capital required to equip and fit out the space to develop a hub for 2025-26, then $2.4 million in cash contributions from 2026 to 2029 toward stabilizing operating expenses.
BarrieToday asked Mayor Alex Nuttall how he, or city council, could justify committing almost $10 million during the next five years to building and helping operate the STEM Hub — given the financial pressures Barrie is facing, including a contribution of many millions toward the Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) expansion.
“For local students, this partnership and announcement is life-changing,” he said. “That's why it will have the support of council and that's why it (a Barrie university campus) had the support of past administrations.
“There are many provincial and federal jurisdictions that cities are demanded to support in order to deliver key priorities for our citizens," the mayor added.
The $6.5 million would come from the city’s tax capital reserve, the $1 million from the city’s reinvestment reserve, the $2.4 million would be added to city’s annual budgets those years, 2026 to 2029, from property tax revenues.
Nuttall said this council has improved the city’s financial position by holding the property tax line on the city’s portion of annual operating budgets, managed reserves and respects the tax dollars with which it is entrusted.
Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte MPP Doug Downey has said the province would contribute a one-time, $1-million cheque to help Barrie with the housing needs created by university students.
The STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Hub would offer graduate and post-graduate degree programming across the engineering and computer science disciplines, including mechatronics and electrical and software engineering. During the initial five-year period, Lakehead expects to grow program enrolment to 700 students across these disciplines.
“The STEM Hub will attract skilled employees to support our local businesses and drive economic growth,” Nuttall said. “Imagine being a young person whose family does not have the resources to pay for an engineering degree.
"Until now, the options were massive student debt or not following your dreams. Well, now there is a third option. Stay right here in Barrie, where you have grown up, gotten your first job, graduated high school with flying colours and gotten your degree at the new Lakehead STEM Hub," he added.
For a STEM Hub in Barrie, city staff say funding in the form of capital and start-up costs associated with both capital equipment fit-out and programming will need to be secured — as universities are not funded for these types of activities. In the absence of provincial capital funding for these costs, a university would typically look to private fundraising in addition to public commitments, including a municipal contribution, staff say.
“The province of Ontario supports universities and colleges directly through the funding of students,” Nuttall said, “and additionally, have committed $1 million to ensure housing is available for young people to attend Lakehead University.
“Interestingly, the only stakeholder not at the table to support this (STEM Hub) yet is the federal government, whom it is my intention to ask for support with an approved council resolution.”
There would be an initial five-year lease agreement with Lakehead University for 24 Maple Ave., including an option for renewal, with basic rent of $1 for the premises — 7,000 square feet of interior space currently occupied by Barrie Transit and Barrie Police Service’s downtown branch.
The plan includes a property lease agreement for space in the downtown core to relocate the Barrie police satellite office, to a location acceptable to Barrie Police Service.
The Sandbox Centre for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Centre is on the second floor of 24 Maple Ave.
Also in Barrie is Georgian College’s Henry Bernick Entrepreneurship Centre, which assists entrepreneurs in four main areas: training, connections, funding and mentorship.
The Mexican House restaurant, on the ground floor at one end of the building, would continue to operate at 24 Maple Ave.
Previous plans for the ground floor and beyond included a permanent market that was to include the relocation of the Barrie Farmers’ Market. This was put on hold, given the desire of the Barrie Farmers’ Market to remain in its current location at Barrie City Hall.
Lakehead University already has a presence in Barrie.
In September, Georgian College and Lakehead announced a new focus for their collaborative partnership. Starting in 2025, graduates from Georgian diploma programs will be guaranteed admission to select Lakehead undergraduate degree programs in Orillia and Thunder Bay through academic transfers, allowing students to transition between the two institutions to achieve their academic and career goals.
Lakehead’s coming presence in downtown Barrie is just the latest news there on the education front.
In June, it was announced that as many as 800 post-secondary students will be added to downtown Barrie, starting in 2025. Georgian College made the announcement at 55 Mulcaster St., which is the Barrie City Centre building near Collier Street.
Georgian will offer a hub of creative programming there for students in areas such as design, visual arts and emerging innovative technologies, to provide increased opportunities for hands-on learning, collaborative partnerships and immersive experiences.
The new presence downtown will also distribute Georgian students more broadly throughout Barrie, enabling them to live, work and study in various neighbourhoods.
Barrie is one of the fastest-growing municipalities in Ontario, but one of the few among the 25 urban growth centres in the Greater Golden Horseshoe without a university campus, according to city staff.
“For years, Barrie council has voted to spend millions of dollars to gain a university,” Nuttall said. “The previous administration committed $14 million to the provincial government to support a university campus in Barrie. Sadly, it ended in failure and no independent campus ever evolved.”
Barrie generally maintains a low participation rate in university studies in all age categories when compared to the Ontario average, according to staff, even though Barrie remains one of the youngest communities in Ontario.
Based on 2021 Census data 25.4 per cent of Barrie residents aged 25 to 64 had a bachelor's degree or higher, tracking lower than 36.8 per cent in Ontario and 32.9 per cent in Canada. And 42.8 per cent of Barrie’s youth aged 18 to 24 were attending a post-secondary institution compared to 51.5 per cent in Ontario and 50.2 per cent in Canada.
Lakehead’s Barrie campus would have space on Maple Avenue when Barrie’s Allandale Transit Terminal, being built at Essa Road and Gowan Street, adjacent to the existing GO Transit corridor, becomes operational in mid- to late-2025.
The Allandale terminal is to host seamless transit services and connections between Simcoe County, Muskoka and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and be integrated with two-way, so to and from, GO train services, located at the Allandale Waterfront GO station.
