NorQuest College North Learning Centre

NorQuest College is the Edmonton Region’s community college. Serving over 10,000 learners a year, the College is working to accommodate the growing demand for the College’s post-secondary and foundational programs for the next decade. Our vision is to create a vibrant Downtown Campus that consolidates our existing Edmonton locations to improve access for all learners to services, teaching technology and supportive learning space.

Currently, in addition to the Main Building on 108 Street, facilities are dispersed at the Westmount Campus, Capital Centre, Health Education Centre - 106 Street, Health Education Centre - 102 Avenue and the Intercultural Centre. With an expanded mandate to offer post-secondary programming and regional stewardship, NorQuest is expecting a 17 per cent increase in its Edmonton enrolment by 2017.

The planned North Learning Centre will modernize the downtown location – incorporating green park space, energizing Edmonton’s campus/warehouse district, anchoring the north leg of Capital Boulevard and integrating with the city’s LRT plans. The College fully supports the City of Edmonton
Downtown Plan and sees the consolidated campus as a significant component in realizing the vision.

The North Learning Centre will be a sustainable and efficient 27,500 m2, five-storey building facing Capital Boulevard, flanked by 103 Avenue and 107 Street. The new building adds 60 per cent more capacity than the buildings it is replacing. It will feature state-of-the-art smart classrooms, labs, a daycare, a new library, food services and student activity space as well as underground parking. The building features a central atrium to provide light and space for student activities. The North Learning Centre will be connected on all levels to the existing South Learning Centre. A renovation and retrofit of the South Learning Centre is an integral part of this project to ensure the two buildings work together to meet the needs of students, faculty and staff on the campus.

The College is working with the Alberta government to develop its Downtown Campus Development Plan. A business case, the schematic design for the North Learning Centre and the master plan for the Downtown Campus, were submitted to government in August 2010 for consideration. With government commitment and funding of this project, the College could see construction begin in the summer of 2012 and students attending programs in early 2015 – the year marking NorQuest College’s 50th anniversary.