Richmond Hill residents excited by prospect of York campus
York doing online survey of best locations

Richmond Hill Liberal
By Kim Zarzour

Richmond Hill residents are rallying behind a bid to build a post-secondary campus in the Hwy. 7 and Yonge Street area.

The town is one of three municipalities short-listed for a proposed satellite campus of York University and Seneca College and the idea is being cheered by many who think Richmond Hill is the perfect spot.

Richmond Hill offers a central location, transit access, amenities, culture, diversity and heritage, said Derek Christie on Facebook.

“It would serve more communities in Richmond Hill as it is accessible to Aurora, Newmarket, Georgina etc.,” said Carol Jean. The town also offers accessibility with further building of transit planned along Yonge Street starting July of 2014, she added.

Joel Clements, a York University graduate, thinks it would be a vast improvement from “back in the day” when it took two hours to get to the main campus by public transit from Richmond Hill.

“Richmond Hill is the transit hub of the future,” weighed in Randall Becker. “We have no competing post-secondary schools, which gives York a perfect niche to fill. Perhaps this would also bring higher quality shopping to the area, too.”

Stan Daneman, a candidate for Ward 2 in the upcoming municipal election, noted Richmond Hill produces high-quality students.

“Once they graduate they either move away to study or have to commute several hours a day. A local campus provides a means of improving the effective use of time, not to mention prestige to the town.”

The challenge, he said, will be to provide an efficient, effective and economic transit system to and from the campus, otherwise traffic gridlock could increase.

A local campus could also attract students from other nearby towns, resulting in a boost to local businesses, he said.

“Such opportunities do not come around too often and this is one that we should not miss out on.”

Lynn Foster, a former councillor, remembered travelling to the university herself “and it was a brutal commute... There are probably already a lot of York U. students in close proximity who would love not to have to travel over to the main campus.”

Transit along Yonge Street from Finch Avenue is very good, she said, and a new campus in Richmond Hill would be more incentive for a subway to Hwy. 7.

“I can’t see a downside at all,” she said. “Lots of construction jobs while the site is being built, lots of students, professors, and all the support staff and jobs that are created in running a campus.”

Six York Region municipalities put their proposals forward earlier this month and last week the three finalists were announced. Along with Richmond Hill, Markham and Vaughan remain in the running and all will meet with the university this week to hash out further details.

An in-camera session was held after Richmond Hill’s council meeting Monday night to discuss the issue and provide further direction to staff, but details are not being made public.

Ward 1 Councillor Greg Beros raised the question on social media whether the town should offer money to the university, but he said it’s not an idea he favours.

“I think that Richmond Hill is centre ice and if the university wants to come here, they will. I personally can’t support giving tax or reserve money to entice a university to build in Richmond Hill.”

A more detailed review with the three short-listed municipalities is set for early May, with an announcement on the preferred location to be announced later in the month.

“We heard such remarkable presentations from these three municipalities, who went far above and beyond to showcase their capabilities and commitment, that we decided to expand our list. We believe that any one of these three candidate municipalities would be excellent partners in this major undertaking,” said York president and vice-chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri.

East Gwillimbury and Newmarket/Aurora also made pitches to the university, but the university said Markham, Richmond Hill and Vaughan stood out because they are well served by a well-developed transportation infrastructure that can attract students from across the GTA and have strongly developed visions for vibrant urban centres.