Lakehead University is coming to town.
On Wednesday night, Barrie city councillors unanimously endorsed the $9.9 million plan to let Lakehead establish a satellite campus downtown on the ground floor of 24 Maple Avenue, the current Barrie Bus Terminal, starting in the fall of 2026.
Two recorded votes passed 11-0, without any discussion around the council table.
At last week's general committee meeting, Mayor Alex Nuttall said the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Hub downtown would be a win-win for the city.
"I think what we're going to be able to achieve together for the young people in the City of Barrie and around the city is something that will last generations."
The five-year lease deal with Lakehead includes $1 rent for the location and the use of 7,000 square feet with an option to renew. There would also be a 15,000-square-foot outdoor courtyard.
Lakehead plans to begin programs in September 2026 and will have access to the building when the Allandale Transit Terminal, currently under construction at Essa Road and Gowan Street, opens in late 2025.
The Barrie Police Service has an office at the current transit terminal and the plan is to relocate to another location that is acceptable to police.
Landing Lakehead means the original plan for a marketplace in the area of the current terminal is cancelled.
The cash flow from the city to Lakehead will come from various reserves rather than property taxes.
Lakehead officials told the general committee last week that they expected an enrolment of 750 to 800 students at the end of the five years.
When Lakehead opens the STEM Hub, the Sandbox Centre for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Centre will remain on the second floor, and the Mexican House restaurant will continue to operate on the ground floor in another section of the building.
According to city officials, Barrie is one of the few among the 25 urban growth centres in the Greater Golden Horseshoe without a university campus.
Lakehead established a partnership with Georgian College in 2016, and since then, according to the Georgian College website, has expanded direct pathways from diplomas to degrees in academic areas such as computer science, criminology, applied life sciences, kinesiology, and outdoor recreation, parks and tourism.
Lakehead's main base of operations is in Thunder Bay, but has had a campus in Orillia since 2006.
