New and improved
Construction to begin this month on NSCC Marconi Sydney waterfront campus
SYDNEY — A glimpse into the future of Sydney's downtown core was unveiled on Friday when the provincial government unveiled conceptual drawings of the new Marconi Campus.
Construction of the Nova Scotia Community College facility that will feature a pedway crossing above the Esplanade is set to begin this month.
“It’s a very exciting time for our community to be able to have a new facility with stateof-the-art learning spaces, community spaces and connections to the community that can be enhanced and improved based on our new location,” said Marconi Campus principal Fred Tilley.
“A little bit of work has taken place down on the site, there’s been some environmental work going on, there’s been some demos of buildings in the general area … we’re right on schedule.”
Last month, NSCC issued a tender to start the construction phase of the project. The tender is expected to be awarded within two weeks.
Meanwhile, other construction tenders will be issued over the next 18 months.
Tilley wasn’t surprised with the timing of construction as the goal is to have the new facility open for September 2024.
“In order to hit that timing, we need to get started right away,” said Tilley. “I think it’s going to bring that modern approach, a brand-new beautiful building and landscaping that will fit in quite nicely with the lay of the land and the existing surroundings.”
In August 2019, the province announced the location for the new facility, which will encompass the waterside of the Esplanade in Sydney from Falmouth to Crescent streets.
The relocation also involved the purchase of multiple properties including rental spaces, a private home, a gas station, municipallyowned waterfront, and the Cape Breton Regional Municipality’s Sydney fire station. The cost for detailed design and development, including site preparation and land acquisition, was about $18 million. It will be built in accordance with accessibility standards and guidelines following the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification Program.
Kathleen Yurchesyn, chief executive officer for the Cape Breton Regional Chamber of Commerce, believes the new addition to the downtown core demonstrates confidence within the community.
“I think it’s absolutely what our community needs right now,” said Yurchesyn. “I think it’s going to be a pivotal piece of the future of downtown revitalization and the economic core that is downtown Sydney.”
A number of projects, including the Marconi Campus, are expected to take place in the downtown Sydney area in the coming years, including the revitalization of Charlotte Street as well as various private investment.
“I think public investment means private investment and it demonstrates that there’s things happening here, and that investment is happening in a public sense,” said Yurchesyn.