Fanshawe finally gets the dough

City council approved a motion on September 2 to grant Fanshawe College $9 million over 10 years to buy and redesign the Kingsmill building as part of the plan to bring more students to downtown London.

The motion was passed with a vote of 8-7.

“We’re thrilled with city council’s decision,” said Fanshawe spokesperson Elaine Gamble. “We’re really looking forward to moving forward with the project that’s going to see 2,000 students downtown.”

It was city councillor Denise Brown that made the decision-making swing vote. She had voted against the previous motion in July to give Fanshawe the $10 million it was then asking for Kingsmill.

“It’s not a flip-flop,” Denise said about her change of vote. “It’s having had the opportunity to do the research, to speak to constituents, to involve the business community and to make the right decisions.”

She also said that councillor and mayoral candidate Matt Brown’s two amendments to the motion made her decision to vote in favour of giving Fanshawe the money easier.

Matt’s first proposed amendment was that the so-called “head tax” – that Fanshawe give the City $75 per student studying at the Kingsmill building – that was previously abandoned be reinstituted.

His second proposed amendment was that if the cost of the final project turns out to be below the estimated $66.2 million, the City would get the savings in return.

City council approved the two amendments.

Interim Mayor Joni Baechler and councillors Matt Brown, W. Russell Monteith, Nancy Branscombe, Paul Hubert, Harold Usher, Judy Bryant and Denise Brown voted in favour of the motion to give Fanshawe $9 million.

“I am extraordinarily pleased,” Baechler said. “We’ve got an excited project in the downtown, and I think this will just spur economic development in the core like nothing we have seen.”

Councillors Joe Swan, Stephen Orser, Paul Van Meerbergen, Sandy White, Bill Armstrong, Bud Polhill and Dale Henderson voted against it.

Swan, also a candidate for mayor in the upcoming election, held a press conference the week before, pointing out to a few available buildings downtown that were cheaper than Kingsmill. One of the sites he pointed out to was the Market Tower, which the college looked into buying last year but didn’t.

Swan also mentioned a company outside London made a serious offer for the Kingsmill building, though he didn’t reveal which company. Some Londoners had expressed concerned that the building might sit empty if the college did not buy it.

That same day, Swan met with Fanshawe President Peter Devlin, asking him that the college “temporally withdraw” its offer to buy Kingsmill. In a media statement released after the meeting, the college explained that it had spent a “significant amount of time” looking at downtown sites with the help of third-party consultants. Kingsmill was the option that best met the college’s needs, the letter said. Devlin rejected Swan’s proposal.

Swan said at city hall on September 2 that he supported bringing Fanshawe to downtown London but that he thinks the province should help the college fund the project, not local taxpayers.

He also made reference to the fact that the City had already given Fanshawe $20 million in 2011 to help buy and redesign the Royal Trust Building on Dundas Street. The college turned the building into the Centre for Digital and Performance Arts. It opened in January.

Council members who voted in favour of the motion said helping Fanshawe buy the Kingsmill building was not only about funding education but also about helping revitalizing the downtown area.

Voting “no” would be going back to “sleepy town London,” Baechler said.

Fanshawe’s plan is to expand the digital and performance arts program currently located in its downtown campus into the Kingsmill building. The college said it also plans to add three storeys to the building and move the School of Tourism and Hospitality there.

Devlin said in a letter addressed to the mayor in June that the plan is “the single largest capital investment” the college will ever make.

The college revealed its plan back in June, asking the City $10 million over 10 years.

But the motion didn’t pass – it tied 7-7. Dale Henderson, councillor for Ward 9, was absent.

Fanshawe’s offer to buy the building expired on August 14.

But the next day, the London Downtown Business Association, whose goal is to improve the experience of downtown businesses, offered Fanshawe $1 million over 10 years to buy Kingsmill.

A new request for the City to give Fanshawe $9 million over 10 years instead of $10 million was approved, and the motion was passed on September 2 when it was presented to city council.

“I’m pretty happy,” Baechler said about council’s approval to give Fanshawe the money.

“I think it is a very great day in the city of London.”

The Facts

• Kingsmill building was built in 1932

• The cost of buying and redesigning the building is estimated at $66.2 million

• The City of London will give Fanshawe $9 million over 10 years to help the college fund the project

• The Downtown London Business Association will give Fanshawe $1 million over 10 years to help Fanshawe bring more students to the downtown area

• Kingsmill will bring an additional 1,600 students to downtown London — the Centre for Digital and Performance Arts already houses 400 students

City council members who voted yes

Joni Baechler, W. Russell Monteith, Nancy Branscombe, Matt Brown, Paul Hubert, Denise Brown, Harold Usher, Judy Bryant

City council members who voted no

Joe Swan, Bud Polhill, Bill Armstrong. Stephen Orser. Dale Henderson, Paul Van Meerbergen, Sandy White