Fanshawe College is considering expanding its east-end campus into the city’s core – a move that could either revitalize or devastate the area.

“We’re having conversations in the future, and within the next few months we’ll have a better idea as to the construction that will be done,” Bernice Hull, vice-president of administration at Fanshawe College, said. Hull noted the exact location of the satellite campus is not yet known.

“I’m very positive about the amount of interest in the downtown both from the businesses and the residents,” Hull said.

Wilfrid Laurier University saw success when it expanded its campus to downtown Brantford in 1999.

“Students, particularly when there are residences downtown, spend money. Whether it’s at the pubs or at the local grocery stores, there’s a local economy that goes with students,” Leo Groarke, dean of WLU’s Brantford campus, said.

Groarke, who joined the Brantford campus in 2000, witnessed the University’s success first hand.

“We started with just one building, and now if you include the buildings we rent, the campus has grown to 18 buildings downtown,” Groarke said.

Issues involving student housing may be raised if the Fanshawe decides to relocate some of its student body, whether it be in residences or off-campus housing

“Any clustering of a particular kind of land use can bring about issues. If we’ve got too many social services in one area, or we’ve got too many rental units in on area, whenever that happens you get an unbalance in the community,” Judy Bryant, London councillor for Ward 13, said. “It’s really, really important that we have a good plan in effect to prevent that kind of intensification.”

Glenn Matthews, Fanshawe’s housing mediation officer, estimated there are approximately 7,000 to 8,000 student renters.

Hull explained the College had been looking into different housing options for students, but had not decided on encouraging renters to live downtown.

Downtown London already has a higher than average concentration of young adults than the rest of the city, standing at 58 per cent [in comparison to 36 per cent for the rest of London]. But Bryant attributes this to the fact that downtown is changing for the better.

Bryant added she was optimistic about Fanshawe’s potential downtown expansion.

“I think the key to success is a very clear mission of what you’re doing downtown and how it relates to what the rest of the university is doing. You want to ask yourself what does it make sense to have downtown, what will fit into what the downtown is […?] What programs will do well at a significant distance from the principal campus?” Groarke observed.

Hull mentioned the school was hoping for an emphasis on programs concerning the theatre, art and media.