Lakehead University's incoming STEM Hub is expanding to a second downtown Barrie location, taking over space at 5 Ross St. that Georgian College is preparing to vacate.
The university announced Tuesday that its finalized academic plan for the Barrie STEM Hub now includes 27,200 square feet of teaching, learning and research space across the first floor of 24 Maple Ave. and the Ross Street building. The hub is scheduled to open in the fall of 2026.
What each building will house
In a letter to students obtained by Village Media, Lakehead president and vice-chancellor Dr. Gillian Siddall said the first floor at 24 Maple Ave. will hold specialized research and teaching laboratories, including advanced labs focused on motors and robotics, machines, instrumentation and mechatronics — the interdisciplinary field combining electrical, mechanical and computing systems.
The Ross Street location will feature flexible classrooms and active learning spaces, computer labs, student services and common areas, along with offices for graduate students and staff, Siddall wrote.
"We are providing high-quality classrooms, high-tech labs, student services spaces and social areas that our students deserve, right from the start," Siddall said, according to a Lakehead University news release.
The STEM Hub — covering science, technology, engineering and mathematics — will offer undergraduate and graduate programming in engineering and computer science, including mechatronics and electrical and software engineering. Lakehead expects enrolment of 700 students across those disciplines during the first five years.
Georgian connection
The 5 Ross St. building is currently home to Georgian College's downtown campus, the Arch and Helen Brown Design and Digital Arts College. A college official said Georgian and Lakehead will not be co-located downtown: Georgian programs now running at Ross Street will move to the college's new downtown campus at 55 Mulcaster St., known as Barrie City Centre.
Georgian's creative programming hub at the Mulcaster Street site is expected to eventually add 800 students to the downtown core, with programming in areas such as design, visual arts and emerging innovative technologies.
Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall welcomed the Lakehead expansion in the same release, saying the second location "brings new energy" to the downtown core and enhances the student experience with modern spaces to learn and collaborate.
"It's an investment in our students, our businesses and the future of our city," Nuttall said.
City backing
Barrie city council committed financial support to Lakehead in late 2024, pledging $6.5 million from the tax capital reserve for hub construction in 2025-26 and a one-time $1 million contribution from the city's reinvestment reserve for start-up capital to equip and fit out the space.
The city also committed $2.4 million in cash contributions from 2026 to 2029 to help stabilize operating expenses, to be added to annual budgets over those years.
