Brandon University will host a second set of community conversations to explore the ongoing development of plans and options for the downtown site with faculty, staff and students, as well as sharing the latest information with members of the public.

Following targeted consultations over the past few months, an earlier round of community conversations this year, as well as open feedback through BrandonU.ca/Downtown, several possible opportunities have been identified, and will be expanded on at these new sessions.

The new community conversations are scheduled for the afternoon of Tuesday, Feb. 6. Members of the BU community are invited to a later one or this one:

• 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. – Louis Riel Room, BU

Later the same evening, all members of the public are also invited to a community conversation at City Hall.

All three 90-minute sessions will be the same. They will be led by the external expert team that has been guiding pre-development work on the downtown, expand on options that have been advanced so far, and solicit further high-level feedback.

Brandon University’s downtown development will sit on a large parcel of land that totals nearly 70,000 square feet. This amount of space downtown opens up new opportunities to advance the University’s priorities as stated in the BU Academic Plan as well as the themes that have emerged from the new BU Campus Master Plan. It will be one of the most significant developments for the University and City in decades.

Most of the development will be devoted to new residential space, with both new-concept student residences as well as seniors’ housing being considered. Along with the residential component, the future downtown initiative will include academic and learning spaces, plus a service, retail and commercial component. The University is committed to creating a mixed-use development that will add value to the existing neighbourhood, bringing new amenities and vitality to the downtown core.

A full pre-development report is expected by the spring.