A five-storey, one-stop-shop campus is coming to the heart of Langford in spring 2025.
Once the construction on Peatt Road is completed, the new building will house students from the University of Victoria, Camosun College, Justice Institute of BC, Royal Roads University and The Sooke School District, who will offer adult education courses.
“It’s the future of post-secondary education,” said Philip Steenkamp, President and Vice-Chancellor of Royal Roads University.
The new campus will give students more options when choosing where to study, and having five organizations under one roof gives them plenty of choices, said Steenkamp.
“It will be unique in Canada,” Steenkamp said.
The five-storey building is made from mass timber instead of traditional concrete or steel and will be the first public post-secondary education facility built to a zero-carbon standard.
“It’s going to be very environmentally friendly,” said Ravi Parmar, MLA for Langford and Sooke. “It is the most substantive investment in our community’s history.”
A range of programs will be offered, including the Justice Institute of BC, which will train paramedics. This is crucial because they often have to go to the Lower Mainland, Parmar said.
The campus will not have a food court. Instead, students will have retailers along Goldstream Avenue to engage with.
“We didn’t want to establish food services that would rival what’s going on outside. We want the student body to support the local community,” Steenkamp said.
Langford has provided $150,000 per year over ten years towards the Innovation studio at the campus, with a total donation of $1.5 million toward the studio.
“That’s a really exciting feature,” Steenkamp said.
Parking will be available, and Steenkamp said that Langford has committed up to $27 million for upgrades. There will be a paved parking lot on site.
“It’s around 240 parking spots, until that parking structure gets built,” Steenkamp said.
There are 600 students scheduled to begin classes when the camps officially open in September 2025.
The campus’s opening is just the beginning. The next phase of the project involves studying student housing and daycare.
“It will depend a little bit on the business case and the discussions with it,” Steenkamp said.
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