Two families, the Claytons and the Sangaras, have offered to donate close to 45 acres of land to Capilano College to build an expanded Sechelt campus. The land is located north of Chatelech Secondary School, beyond the playing fields.
"We heard they were interested in trying to create an expanded campus on the Sunshine Coast," said John Clayton. "They sort of convinced us there's a need for it. Our family has always been enthusiastic about this. Any college town I've been to has always been a wonderful town."
Clayton, together with his brother, Dick Clayton, and sisters, Phyllis Morris and Margaret Hemstreet, own about half the land being offered to Cap College. They have deep family roots on the Coast. The Sangara family, who own the other half of the land being offered to Cap College, do not live on the Sunshine Coast.Brian Smith, who sits on the board of Cap College, called the offer of land "really exciting."
"The long-term potential is just terrific, both in terms of educational opportunities and economic benefit for the community," he said. "Having 45 acres of land, that is larger than the campus in North Vancouver, which has only 37 acres. One of the things we'd be doing here is a horticulture program, which is a natural for the Sunshine Coast. We're looking at offering a degree program and building a botanical garden."
However, Cap College does not yet have a commitment from the provincial government for the money to build an expanded Sechelt campus.
On Nov. 1, Shirley Bond, the Minister of Advanced Education, came to Sechelt to find out more about the proposed expansion.
Sechelt Mayor Cam Reid said the meeting with Bond was "an opportunity to explore options" and meet with the landowners and officials from the district and from the college.
"The next steps are more exploratory work. The minister committed to work with all the interested groups to establish the business case and how all of this might take place," said Reid.
The expanded campus might include a theatre and arts centre, a convention centre, student residences and a botanical garden. Smith said the long-term plan is to create a "destination college" attracting off-Coast and foreign students. It would offer specialized programs building on the college's current strengths, such as the landscape horticulture program currently located in North Vancouver, and the new scuba diving program at the Sechelt campus, which has attracted most of its students from off-Coast.
The lack of student accommodation on the Coast is a problem, Smith said, so building student residences is an important part of the plan.
The college envisions a 20 to 30-year evolution to build the new campus. If the funding from the province comes through, it could start within the next four years by building one new facility similar in size to the existing Cap College Sechelt campus.
