How Students Transform Neighbourhoods

“This campus is a milestone for our city,” said Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati at the official launch of the University of Niagara Falls Canada, the country’s newest degree granting university. With speeches, Indigenous blessings, and a ceremonial cutting of the ribbon, UNF officially opened its doors this fall to students for all five of its degree programs.

Diodati took special pride in the university’s location, just a stone’s throw from his city hall office in a historic downtown district in need of rejuvenation. UNF is welcoming students this fall to 40,000 square feet of expertly renovated downtown office space with classrooms, sunlit lounge space, libraries, and meeting rooms. “I’m already seeing students in the courtyards and on the streets,” Diodati told the crowd. “I’m seeing people from all backgrounds with books under their arms. I’m seeing them in the restaurants. There’s life downtown again.” 

For Global University Systems Canada, the independent education provider that saw the value in Niagara Falls city council’s vision and invested in building the institution from scratch, this is hopefully just the beginning. GUS Canada has a vision to expand the campus with additional state-of-the-art classrooms, office and lounge spaces, and student accommodation. 

GUS Canada’s plans in Niagara Falls mirror the successful approach they’ve taken elsewhere: creating urban campuses that contribute to neighbourhood revitalization. “Higher education should be a major contributor to urban placemaking,” says GUS Canada CEO Cyndi McLeod. “Campuses help grow local economies and give their neighbourhoods its identity. That’s what we bring to the communities where we operate.”

Redefining and amplifying neighbourhood character 

Instead of the old-fashioned cloister model, GUS Canada builds campuses that are woven into their urban fabric and open to their surroundings. “Students don’t benefit from being sequestered from the city,” she says. “Our job is to prepare students for the world beyond campus, so we make sure our campuses are connected to that world.” 

GUS Canada chose to locate its Vancouver institution, University Canada West, in the iconic Vancouver House development, which was created specifically to rejuvenate a desolate and challenging urban location: the eastern end of the city’s iconic Granville Bridge, previously home to nothing more than a vehicle impound lot. 

This is where UCW’s students now study, and their energy has helped transform the surroundings. “The university has helped to make this more than just a new building,” says UCW Vice-President of Operations & IT services Ed Bagg. “It’s a community now.” A wide variety of businesses have located alongside UCW in Vancouver House, including Monzo Burger, Linh Café, London Drugs and Fresh St. Market. 

GUS Canada pursued a similar approach in Toronto’s Bloor and Bathurst area. By establishing a 45,000 square foot college campus in the new Mirvish Village development, which brings a diverse student body to the area daily, GUS Canada has helped preserve and amplify the neighbourhood’s reputation as a magnet for students. 

“Mirvish Village is an ideal location for us,” says Ehsan Safdari, President of GUS Canada’s Colleges group. “It was a crucial upgrade that provided us with high-quality space and allowed us to equip all our classrooms with new technology and full connectivity. We’ve made a significant investment to turn this into a state-of-the-art facility.” 

Designed for learning

Inside, all GUS Canada campuses are designed to stimulate learning, promote social interaction, and foster student success in all areas of their life. The Mirvish Village campus includes space to host grocery-store pop-ups, health and dental clinics, yoga classes, and other wellness programs. In Niagara Falls, UNF’s Student Success Hub offers help with academic support, career searches, and quality of life needs, including assistance with housing and physical and mental health. 

UNF has also enhanced the learning experience by partnering with the Niagara Falls Innovation Hub, which provides students with access to technology that includes a podcasting studio and a makerspace complete with a 3D printer. UNF’s Career Services team has created an online job board to connect local organizations with student job-seekers. And the university has established a Smart City partnership with the City of Niagara Falls which will harness data to increase student and citizen engagement in the downtown region.

Meanwhile, new businesses have already begun to locate nearby, and McLeod believes that UNF will usher in in a new era for downtown Niagara Falls. “University campuses are all about youth, energy and ideas,” she says. “Downtown Niagara Falls needs that kind of fresh identity, and we are delighted to help the city build it.”