Richard Ivey School of Business | ? | 3 floors | APPROVED

[QuantumLeap]

Green light for new Ivey building

By Communications Staff
Friday, May 29, 2009
The University of Western Ontario will break ground this summer on the first phase of a $100-million building project to house the Richard Ivey School of Business.

Today, the federal and provincial governments unveiled $50 million in infrastructure support for the first phase of a striking three-storey, world-class facility to be built on the west side of Western Road in front of Brescia University College.


Western Provost and Vice-President (Academic) Fred Longstaffe lauded provincial and federal governments for their $50-million investment in Western, which will be used for the construction of a $100-million building project to house the ever-growing Richard Ivey School of Business.

Phase two – also valued at $50 million – will be supported by $22.5 million from Western and $27.5 million through the efforts of Ivey fundraisers.

Construction of the glass and cut-stone structure, designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects of Toronto, will begin in August on a site where soccer pitches are currently located. The first phase will be completed by March 2011.

It was the best possible news for a faculty bursting at the seams and scattered over five different locations in London. Click to watch a video of today's announcement.

The world-renowned undergraduate program (HBA) has grown by 40 per cent over the past three years and is expected to double in size by 2013. The PhD program has tripled in size over the last decade.

To meet the demand, space must be increased by 60 per cent more than is currently available in its main building. Hemmed in on one side by a protected woodland and on another by a steep hill, expansion at the current site to handle this growth was considered impossible.

“Ivey has grown tremendously in recent years, and more growth is predicted in the coming years,” says Ivey Dean Carol Stephenson, adding Ivey will be in a position to “prepare for the growth that will support not only Ontario businesses, but also support Ontario’s and Canada’s economic growth.”

President Paul Davenport applauded the federal and provincial governments for supporting a project essential to the university’s future.

“Ivey is identified in our strategic plan as a signature area, and this is an incredible opportunity to take advantage of government investment that helps us build a strong university for the future,” says Davenport.

“Ivey’s impact is felt throughout the university, through its interdisciplinary programs and work across campus, and that means this project is important to all of us.”

Fred Longstaffe, Provost and Vice-President (Academic), said the university is “so fortunate” the federal and provincial governments understand the value of investing in Western.

“Ivey is a world-renowned leader in business education and is one of the key players at Western in bringing international stature and recognition to the university. We want Ivey to be, and continue to be, competitive at the highest national and international level.”

The shovel-ready project meshes with federal and provincial goals to get Ontarians back to work. Over the next 10 months, the project will provide almost 600 jobs in Ontario, more than half in London. Almost 200 jobs will be supported as the first phase winds up.

Provincial and federal politicians were on hand Friday to deliver the news.

“By investing at Western today, the Ontario government is supporting new construction and renovation projects that will create construction jobs in the short-term and provide more opportunities for our students to develop the skills they need for the jobs of the future,” says Deb Matthews, MPP for London North Centre.

According to Joe Preston, MP, Elgin-Middlesex-London: “This government of Canada investment in (Western) will provide a significant short-term economic stimulus to London and will create jobs in this region.”

The so-far unnamed new building has been designed using the latest green technology, and will be the second LEED-certified building on campus. The other is the Faculty of Engineering’s Claudette McKay-Lassonde Pavilion which is scheduled to open this fall.

Planning began in 2005 when Ivey launched a comprehensive strategy for growth, including identification of the need for additional space.

The intensity has ramped up since January 2008. A New Building Task Force conducted a review to ensure the new building would be on par with top business schools in Canada and internationally. From that process, the university attracted proposals from 18 architects, eventually selecting Hariri Pontarini Architects.

The current building is called the Richard G. Ivey Business School, named for the first chair of the Ivey Advisory Board, Richard G. Ivey. The building will retain his name. The Richard Ivey School of Business will also retain its name, and Ivey students will continue to graduate from the Richard Ivey School of Business at The University of Western Ontario.

University officials say the new building provides a naming opportunity. The Ivey family is aware of the building-naming opportunity and supportive of the new building initiative.

In the future, the Spencer Leadership Centre on Windermere Road will be used by Ivey solely as an executive education facility and for external events, such as weddings and corporate meetings.

While construction will displace the current soccer fields, planning is underway to move them to an area near TD Waterhouse Stadium.





While I think this is fantastic news for an important London "brand", I am deeply disappointed that this facility is not going downtown.
A $100M, 200,000 sq ft facility housing one of the world's best business schools would have done more for revitalization than the JLC, Market and Library combined.

[NetMapel]

It would be inconvenient for Western students to have to travel downtown to study, that's why. I'm already surprised this building will be built at the Brescia hill and not beside the current Ivey building.

The growth of this business school's HBA program is alarming though. 40% growth in 3 years and double that in 2013 ? I don't know how I feel about that.

[sparky212]

I agree it would do wonders for DT but netmaple is right its the convenience

[MolsonExport]

why wouldn't the main campus of the business school be on the main campus of Western? plenty of Ivey students take courses outside of the business school, and vice-versa. Parking, athletic facilities, libraries, student services, registrar, health services, student residences... all here on main campus.

[ForestryW]

Yet the University of Waterloo's School of Architecture is in Galt (Cambridge), about a 1 hour bus ride (minimum) to the UW main campus. Yet architecture students take plenty of courses on main campus. Why does it work? Because K-W has a more than half-decent transit system. If the folks at LTC could pull their heads out of their armpits and realize they're not providing transit to a small agricultural village then a downtown Ivey campus might work. Hint. Hint. Pardon the cynicism.

[QuantumLeap]

Why did I advocate moving Ivey downtown, and why I am disappointed that it didn't?

Molson, you are correct in saying that "Parking, athletic facilities, libraries, student services, registrar, health services, student residences...[are] all here on main campus." But Ivey is run as a quasi-independent school from Western anyway. It has many of its own such departments. In addition, a new building, or a building renovated to accomodate Ivey, could have incorporated some of these facilities into it. And downtown offers many of these same services. As for "convenience" many Ivey students (probably the majority) already live downtown, in which case it would actually be more convenient for them to reach a downtown location. Virtually no Ivey students live in on-campus residence.

Given that Western already has another business program, BMOS (formerly ACS), it would not be that much of a stretch to completely cut Ivey off, or to increase its autonomy significantly. Even if this option were not pursued, main campus is only a 40 minute walk from D & R, and is 20 minutes on the bus. Not one, not two, but three bus routes run from downtown directly to the university, such that if you are standing at D & R or Talbot College, you generally do not have to wait more than 3 minutes for a bus going to the other terminus in the daytime. Shuttle busses could have been run in addition.

The benefits of Ivey going downtown would have been significant: nearly 1000 students constituting "feet on the ground", most of whom (if they didn't already) would have opted to live close to the new campus. Additionally, some 100-200 new employees would have move downtown, many of whom are internationally recognized business experts. $100 million in new construction, in downtown's first LEED building, built by recognized Canadian architects, would have been a big morale boost in a sagging downtown construction economy. But most importantly, the move would have connected one of the world's best business schools to our city's economic centre. The "Ivory Tower Blues" would have been lifted, and a number of exciting new opportunities would have been possible, such as increased co-ops.

As for the example of the UW Architecture School, London is truly the last Canadian university town to lack both a university or college right in the heart of the CBD and/or a satellite campus of at least one faculty downtown. Universities have a role to play in revitalizing their communities. More and more students want to live right in the action rather than on protected, boring suburban campuses. Putting faculties or satellite campuses downtown helps to reignite the host cities' heart, and has a number of benefits for the university (such as freeing up land for housing).
Although the battle has been lost over Ivey, both Fanshawe and Western have several faculties that fit the bill for a move downtown: new space desperately needed, run somewhat independently, would make a big splash downtown.... how about the Faculty of Music? or Law? Education!?! (ps they are abandoning Althouse within the decade...)

So finally, why did Ivey decide to build on the West side of Western Rd? Because the Davenport administration had little respect for London, or for student needs. The last 10 years at UWO have been marked by increasing tensions in the neighbourhoods around campus because of student housing growth, despite (or because of the fact) that Western owns literally several square kilometres of developable land, including: Brescia, St Peters, the South Valley, the Research Park, the meadow north of Gibbons Park and Spencer Manor. Despite students' frequent complaint that Western is sprawling and remote from everything else despite being in the middle of everything, the UWO board has insisted on increasing the end-to-end size of the campus, ignoring obvious infill sites like: Talbot Parking lot, a Physical Plant redevelopment, McIntosh grassy area, the Talbot Bowl, the Middlesex parking lot, the Law parking lot, the Social Sci parking lot etc etc. The list goes on. Explain why they don't infill the campus and sell off/ develop their excess land for reasonable student accommodation? It can only be a love for York U-style alienation.



End of rant.

[MolsonExport]

Davenport's tenure is officially over.
I am not altogether pleased with the location myself. But downtown London is no downtown Toronto, and I fail to see what would be in it for IVEY, while acknowledging the positive impact that it would have on DT London.

[ldoto]

Update!!!

EllisDon inks contract to build UWO's new biz school

Mon, July 13, 2009


London-based construction giant EllisDon has landed the contract to build a new $100 million home for the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.

“EllisDon has its roots in London, Ontario and we’re very pleased to have chosen a local firm with more than five decades in the construction industry,” said Carol Stephenson, dean of the business school.

The new building will be located on the west side of Western Road in front of Brescia University College. The project is expected to create 600 construction jobs with the federal and provincial governments each contributing $25 million in infrastructure funding.

The remaining cost will be covered by Western and by private donations.

During its 55-year history EllisDon has constructed commercial and industrial buildings all over the globe including a number at Western.




“As a hometown company, we look forward to participating in such an important and prestigious project,” said Geoff Smith, president of EllisDon.

EllisDon will be working with Hariri Pontarini Architects on the project with a construction start expected in August.

Stephenson said the school’s current building is too small and 1,000 students are spread across five locations, one of them off-campus.

The announcement of the business school contract came the same day that the London St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR) announced the creation of new awards to honor EllisDon co-founder Don Smith.

The Don Smith Commercial Building Awards are aimed at recognizing excellence in commercial construction. The four categories are commercial, industrial, multi-family and institutional.

While LSTAR members are usually associated with residential home sales Larin Shouldice, chairperson of LSTAR’s regional commercial council, said commercial buildings are also an important area for many realtors.

A panel of judges will assess the buildings, constructed between January 2007 and June 2009, based on innovative design, sensitivity to the environment and development needs met in the community. LSTAR will be accepting nominations until Sept. 30

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by ldoto

[B][SIZE="7"]London-based construction giant EllisDon has landed the contract to build a new $100 million home for the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.

When I think of Ellis-Don, I think of Skydome. Wonder if the new Ivey school will have a retractable roof?

So finally, why did Ivey decide to build on the West side of Western Rd? Because the Davenport administration had little respect for London, or for student needs.

Oh, I know. Davenport actively sought as many non-Londoners as he could to fill Western. I have heard the number of students from the GTA totals 40%, and from my four years experience at Western, many (not all of them) have no respect for my city. Davenport heavily oriented Western towards residence students compared to many Ontario universities, much to the detriment to Western students from London who lived at home and didn't feel the same connection to the campus as those from Toronto did. He had very little respect for the city surrounding his university, and it showed.