Brock relocating Hamilton campus to Burlington

Hamilton’s loss is Burlington’s gain after Brock University announced Tuesday its campus on King Street East will be relocated to Burlington.

Burlington council approved a motion on Monday to finalize a memorandum of understanding between the university and municipality to “work together to find a site and to realize the intention for the relocated campus.” The MOU was also approved by Brock University’s board of trustees.

Brock has operated the satellite campus at 1842 King St. E. in Hamilton since 2000, serving predominantly as a location for teacher education.

In November 2019, Brock officials decided the former 1960s high school would be too expensive to improve, and decided to sell the property and seek a replacement site within the Hamilton, Burlington and Oakville area. Brock sold its Hamilton campus in September, but the agreement allowed the university to continue operating its satellite site until August 2022.

Last year, Brock announced it wanted to establish a high-tech facility in the region and it couldn’t do so with the King Street East location — on seven acres of land near the Red Hill Valley Parkway — saying that cost would be prohibitive.

Burlington Mayor Marianne Weed said on Twitter that seeking the satellite campus had been a goal for the past 10 years.

“It’s a win-win not just for Brock University, but Burlington will also benefit from getting a foothold in the post-secondary graduate world,” she stated.