universities colleges sign up for city project

Martin C. Barry, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Since spring is a time for planting seeds and encouraging growth, it was fitting that officials from the City of Laval and four Montreal-area higher education institutions chose a day in April to sign an agreement to form a consortium aimed at building a college and university campus near the city’s expansive Carré Laval.

City and four partners

The agreement was announced earlier this month with a formal document signing between the city and Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) Collège Montmorency and Collège LaSalle.

The campus would constitute a fourth component at Carré Laval, where residential, commercial and light industry are already slated for development. Located on a large, mostly vacant square of land at the southwest intersection of Autoroute 15 and Saint-Martin Blvd., Carré Laval’s development will be taking place over a span of 20 years.

A mostly vacant site

The most notable landmarks until now near the Carré Laval site have been the Palais de Justice, the abandoned stone quarry behind the courthouse, and in more recent years the temporary staging base for the lightshow entertainment start-up Illumi Laval.

“This reimagined campus project will be adding to the availability of higher learning in Laval – the third-largest city in Quebec which is in full growth,” states a blurb issued by the five partners, adding that the project would be a key element in helping to train or retain new talent, while generating impactful commercial and industrial projects.

According to their press release, the centre will have room for a research laboratory, specialized businesses, innovative organizations and enterprise accelerators, as well as green spaces open to the public in order to encourage open access to higher learning.

Local and global

“With a growing population and a sustained economic outlook, Laval’s needs for higher education and research are great,” said Mayor Stéphane Boyer. “This initiative illustrates Laval’s commitment along with its partners to offer all Laval residents local access to education and research of global calibre.

“This strategic collaboration will help form future generations directly on our territory, while stimulating innovation and making our area more attractive,” he added. “In the current economic context, it would be essential for us to aim for innovative solutions out of the box, and that’s exactly what we are doing with this reimagined campus project.”

Jenny Desrochers, a spokesperson for UQAM, noted in an e-mail to The Laval News that UQAM has been present in Laval for over 40 years and “has been a partner from the very beginning of the Carré Laval project, which focuses on knowledge, innovation, and social transition,” while adding that Mayor Boyer is a UQAM graduate.

UQAM at Carré Laval

She said UQAM is spearheading three initiatives to be part of Carré Laval: a Global Health Innovation Zone (global health being an approach advocated by the university for the development of health sciences at UQAM); establishment of a laboratory school with UQAM’s faculty of education to improve teacher training; and training of the next generation of French-speaking scientists, in collaboration with INRS.

“UQAM’s research expertise is already sought by various partners in Laval and will continue to be so as part of the revitalization and redevelopment of urban centers, particularly with a view to ecological transition,” said Desrochers.

“Carré Laval is a promising project which continues more than 80 years of scientific health research in Laval,” said Luc-Alain Giraldeau, the INRS’s general manager. “The Carré constitutes a solid base for the INRS’s vision. We are out to generate impactful research done by all those determined to bring it to life.”

Growing education horizons

The head of Collège Montmorency suggested the CEGEP is anxious to get started on the project. “Collège Montmorency is happy to take part in this collaboration and to explore the possibilities,” said Benoit Lessard.

“This consortium offers us a unique opportunity to pursue our educational mission by taking actively part at a place of innovation and collaboration, while at the same time benefiting all our students.”

Claude Marchand, CEO of Collège LaSalle, was equally enthused. “This project marks an important step in the future of training and employability in the region,” he said.

“Collège LaSalle is strengthening its commitment to renewing a workforce ready to enter a labour market that is constantly evolving,” added Marchand.

“Thanks to our campus in Laval, we are becoming a real link between tomorrow’s talents and the real needs of creative industries and technologies,” he added.