Newmarket making pitch for York campus

Newmarket Era
April 17, 2014
By Chris Simon

Newmarket will make its pitch for a York University satellite campus later this week after council met to discuss the matter during a closed session Monday night.

Mayor Tony Van Bynen confirmed the town will make a presentation to the university’s expansion steering committee today.

Mr. Van Bynen would not confirm the location of a potential campus site, however, the town’s proposal will likely include several partners.

“The particulars are not ready to be released until we have some agreements in place,” he said. “Until then, our discussions with other parties and potential partners are confidential.”

East Gwillimbury has publicly expressed an interest in working with Newmarket on a proposal. Aurora and Georgina also believe in building a campus to address underserviced areas in north-central York Region, Mr. Van Bynen said.

“It’s been a strategic priority for Newmarket for a long time,” he said. “We’re all of the mind that ... we’re underserviced. It will extend the reach of York University into Simcoe County, Durham (Region) and Georgina. It makes more sense to have a centrally located university campus. Our time has come.”

The steering committee is expected to hear presentations from five groups during the meeting.

East Gwillimbury Mayor Virginia Hackson said a partnership makes sense.

“The natural fit would be East Gwillimbury and Newmarket,” she said, in a recent article published in The Era. “We are certainly hoping that a submission can be put in with more than one community.”

King Township is not submitting a formal proposal, however, the township will offer its support to the Newmarket bid, King Mayor Steve Pellegrini said.

The Seneca College King campus should be included within the overall proposal and would fit in well with an already approved $130-million Seneca campus expansion, he said.

The university is expected to announce its preferred partner municipality in May. Proposals are due to the province for final review, selection and approval in September.