{"id":18519,"date":"2019-11-06T09:00:12","date_gmt":"2019-11-06T17:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=18519"},"modified":"2019-11-19T09:22:33","modified_gmt":"2019-11-19T17:22:33","slug":"drysdale-destruction-student-housing-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2019\/11\/06\/drysdale-destruction-student-housing-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Drysdale destruction? Student-housing success? Looking into the good and the bad of the Camosun Campus Master Plan 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u00a0<\/span>know what you\u2019re thinking when you see the words \u201cmaster plan\u201d: a dark room, lit by a sole flickering light hanging right above a blueprint of both Camosun campuses laid out on a desk, with the scribblings of a mad genius scrawled all over those familiar campus landmarks. Well, the college\u2019s Campus Master Plan 2019 isn\u2019t quite that, but it is a big plan: it has 20 years of potential changes in it. Some of these changes are already in progress. They can move as quickly as the Alex & Jo Campbell Centre for Health and Wellness at Interurban did, or as slowly as the repairs of our stalemate symbol, the Young Building at Lansdowne.<\/p>\n

When we look at the campuses, we can tell that the biggest difference between Interurban and Lansdowne is, of course, size. Lansdowne is definitely manageable for getting from building to building. Interurban, however, is more daunting to navigate, especially for a wee journalist like myself. (I start crying when I even look at the map. No thank you, sir\u2014that is a mountain range for this small adventurer.)<\/p>\n

But changes are exciting, and students and staff happily welcome them if the future provides a more enriching campus life. Well, most staff and students. There are elements of the Master Plan that have some Camosun staffers upset, such as the destruction of Interurban\u2019s John Drysdale Building.<\/p>\n

Then there are things that people are more excited about, such as student housing at both campuses and getting the Young Building\u2014the final boss in this game\u2014looking presentable again.<\/p>\n

Camosun chief financial officer and interim vice president of administration Deborah Huelscher says that the plan, which cost approximately $200,000 to create, is a long-term vision for the college, and the Master Plan itself is the architectural planners\u2019 expert opinion about what the campus could be, taking funding into consideration. She says that the planners\u2014architectural firm Thinkspace\u2014looked at what makes sense with the layouts of the campuses and provided input as to what could be done better.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, they were very positive about the Lansdowne campus, that we have the corridor and the buildings are all so close together,\u201d says Huelscher. \u201cInterurban, we have gaps between, for example, where the [Centre for Trades Education and Innovation] building is, and the campus is a little bit stretched out. So they\u2019ve made recommendations to us as to what could be done, and as funding becomes available for our buildings or renovations, we would look back to the plan for what is being put on the table for guidance to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to realize the plan is only a list of recommendations; Huelscher says that to follow through on the plan would require more resources than the college currently has (she says that the architects provided an order of magnitude cost estimate of $170-plus million to implement the recommended projects over a period of approximately 15 to 20 years, and adds that the college expects to adapt the plan as opportunities present themselves in the coming years).<\/p>\n

The plans for a fresh Camosun are beyond a paint job, and they need a thorough process to map out the plan of attack. We need a complete blueprint of the campus before and after, and we need to address the problems of the plan before it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\n

STEP ONE: THE DRYSDALE BUILDING<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not all Camosun staff agree with the idea of sacrificing the Drysdale Building. Drysdale houses the Carpentry and Pipe Trades programs. It has an important purpose, but the Master Plan suggests its removal, putting in its place a quadrangle for students to easily congregate, move from building to building, and see the rest of the college, namely the Centre for Trades Education and Innovation, which is more or less invisible from anywhere on campus.<\/p>\n

Camosun Plumbing and Pipe Trades chair Jamie McPherson disagrees with the idea of removing the Drysdale Building.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that the people on the committee that are making this decision have actually taken a walk through to see what they\u2019re displacing and what they\u2019d have to replicate in another area, and to see how badly we\u2019re short of space already, let alone them wanting to give us a smaller footprint,\u201d says McPherson. \u201cPeople are coming from all over BC to attend our facility. Now, if we\u2019re not going to be able to offer these classes, they\u2019re going to be going away from that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Huelscher says that she has heard concerns about the suggestion to tear down Drysdale; she says that removing the building is \u201cdefinitely a long-term recommendation\u201d for the college but also says that there was talk of removing Drysdale before the Master Plan was released.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Graphic by Tiegan Suddaby\/Nexus<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe have our fairly new trades building that sits on the hill on the other side. Even when we were designing that particular building, the idea has been to remove the Drysdale Building and create a corridor or a path that would bring the trades building into the centre of the campus,\u201d says Huelscher. \u201cThere wasn\u2019t funding available to do that at the time. So again, these planners have made the same recommendation, and it could be something we look at down the road, but it\u2019s definitely not something, I would say, even within the next 10 years that we would be considering. Part of removing that building would require us to add space to Jack White or build another building to look after the programs that are in that building. So that\u2019s definitely long-term and not a guarantee that we\u2019re going to do that. Again, the goal is about improving campus connectivity.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

McPherson says that Drysdale is doing well structurally and that this would just result in less space for the programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe building itself, structurally, is in great shape. It was built at the same time as Jack White. Does there need to be some upgrades in there? Certainly. But this is a $30-million building if we had to rebuild it,\u201d says McPherson. \u201cWe\u2019re short [on] space here already, and we\u2019re trying to address that. I don\u2019t see how creating a sightline is being very green when you think about all the extra stuff to tear this one down to rebuild another building.\u201d<\/p>\n

The problem here is that a quadrangle would be suitable as a bigger, communal area. Adding a flat courtyard where a fully functioning building is won\u2019t help students navigate the campus. Interurban is already so massive that a student courtyard would need a more central location.<\/p>\n

STEP TWO: STUDENT HOUSING<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the most student-oriented aspects of the Master Plan is building a \u201cpublic realm\u201d on the campuses, which would mean more people would spend more time at Camosun. This could include creating art galleries, more places for social gatherings, and further additions to represent Camosun\u2019s Indigenous cultures.<\/p>\n

Student housing is at the heart of this.<\/p>\n

Plans for building student housing are slowly in progress for both Lansdowne and Interurban. There are two possible spaces on either side of Lansdowne, one being an extension to the Isabel Dawson Building, and one a potential part of an upgrade for the Young Building. Interurban has designated an upper floor extension for Huber Hall for student housing.<\/p>\n

Camosun College Student Society (CCSS) external executive Fillette Umulisa wants student housing to become a reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really do hope that it happens because there are a lot of students here that struggle with housing issues and the prices that are here in Victoria,\u201d says Umulisa. \u201cI specifically remember during last year\u2019s municipal election, the student society and its campaign team [went] out to all of those public assemblies to ask questions in regards to that\u2026 Almost every single response was, \u2018That is the job of the college.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Victoria\u2019s rental prices are certainly unrealistic for college students, as Umulisa points out. She hopes that the convenience of campus housing would lead to a stress-free school life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like it\u2019s going to create some level of convenience. I find some students find cheaper housing so far [away], like in Langford and places that are really hard to commute from,\u201d says Umulisa. \u201cThis is a central location. You can go downtown in five minutes. You can stay right here and school is right here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Umulisa says that the campus lifestyle would change dramatically with student housing; she says it would build a greater sense of community within the school, and she adds that it could mean more businesses opening up on campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, the Dunlop House being a common place where people go to; it\u2019s open sometimes during the semester on Thursdays, but it\u2019s not regular,\u201d says Umulisa. \u201cAnd a bigger cafeteria. A lot more services as well, maybe movie screenings and cafes. Maybe the political structure will change as well, and we\u2019d have debates.\u201d<\/p>\n

But in order to create this campus life, the college needs to attract residents, and in order to that at Lansdowne, there\u2019s one historical landmark in particular that needs to be dealt with.<\/p>\n

STEP THREE: THE YOUNG BUILDING<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Young Building, the centre of everyone\u2019s attention, is in the middle of drama as usual. Locked in a stalemate over repairs for years, the most the college can do as it waits for a solution is to maintain the building\u2019s structure, hence the fences separating students from easy access to the rest of the campus. As a heritage building, its age certainly restrains workers from doing just anything to help it. Fortunately, we\u2019ve come farther with the Young Building than we were five years ago, but that\u2019s not saying much.<\/p>\n

CCSS executive director Michel Turcotte says that the real problem of the Young Building is the physical aspect.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a heritage building, so we can\u2019t tear it down,\u201d says Turcotte. \u201cThe only option is to repair it and make it safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Huelscher says that Young is \u201ca really important building\u201d and is probably Camosun\u2019s most recognized landmark. She says that because the building\u2014and the land in front of it\u2014has a heritage designation, \u201cit kind of ties our hands with what we can do with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is an issue right now with the exterior of the building,\u201d says Huelscher. \u201cBack in 2000, there was some work done on the building… They did the building envelope, and there was a flaw in the process which led to pieces coming off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Huelscher says that the college is looking to do the remediation on the exterior, but it comes down to funding. She says that Camosun has some funds that can go toward it from its insurance proceeds, but it\u2019s not enough, as she says the building \u201crequires significant remediation inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing structurally wrong, it\u2019s just that it\u2019s a building that\u2019s 100 years old,\u201d she says. \u201cThis is a priority for us on our capital plan that goes into the ministry. The proposal is to do the exterior and interior at the same time. We\u2019re just, of course, waiting for funding for that, or looking for funding for that. At the same time, we were also asked by the ministry to look at what opportunities there could be to go beyond just doing a remediation and look at enhancing the interior\u2014putting in more modern student space, collaboration space, et cetera, in classrooms. So we\u2019re working on doing that. It\u2019s at a very high level, but it\u2019ll just give us a sense of what the incremental cost to either expand or enhance that work would look like, and we\u2019ll have an idea for what that will be within the next two or three months, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n

Updating the Young Building would be well worth the wait and effort, but how is that possible when it can\u2019t get the help it needs? What would an updated version look like? Would it still retain its structure? Evidently, as far as master plans go, the majority of this one is hypothetical, but hopefully the Young Building is repaired soon and students can have a building that they can love going to and have no problem entering any one of the doors or going to and from other buildings on campus without taking frustrating detours.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Camosun Campus Master Plan 2019 needs more approval from the masses and more considerate planning from the committee, especially regarding the Drysdale Building. Our hope is that the committee hears the needs of the programs impacted and follows through with sensible action.<\/p>\n

With student housing, the college needs to take a few more steps to build campus life first to attract potential residents.<\/p>\n

But the biggest problem in front of us is the iconic Young Building, and we can only hope to save it. What was once a beautiful building has been an eyesore at Lansdowne for years, and if the college wants to build an on-campus community, the campus\u2019 most well-known landmark can\u2019t keep looking like it does today.<\/p>\n

Looking to the years ahead of us is undeniably exciting. However, as any mad genius knows, master plans take a lot of time and a lot of work, and involve a lot of people. No doubt about it, not everyone is going to be happy with everything in Camosun\u2019s master plan. But one day, maybe we\u2019ll be walking around the Young Building again or lounging on the grass where Drysdale used to be and we\u2019ll say, \u201cHey, you know what? That was a good idea.\u201d<\/p>\n

Or maybe not.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u00a0know what you\u2019re thinking when you see the words \u201cmaster plan\u201d: a dark room, lit by a sole flickering light hanging right above a blueprint of both Camosun campuses laid out on a desk, with the scribblings of a mad genius scrawled all over those familiar campus landmarks. Well, the college\u2019s Campus Master Plan 2019 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,243],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-november-6-2019"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18519"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18578,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18519\/revisions\/18578"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}