St. Clair College and City of Windsor discussing new library

The City of Windsor andSt. Clair College are exploring the idea of building a joint facility in downtown Windsor that would also house a new central library branch.

"We're moving forward with some additional space downtown but long term, if the city wasto pursue a building, I certainly think that we would be very interested and there's a huge opportunity there," said college president Patti France.

The college is already planning to move two new programs downtown in the fall data analytics and a two-year business program.

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France said the college would want to have teaching space, common space and even student housing in the new building.

The library's CEO is also excited about the opportunity.

"A public library and community college partnership is certainly not unheard of. There are several in Canada," said Kitty Pope.

The new 90,000 sq. ft. facility would accommodate 9,000 students. It would be three to five years before it happens.

In the meantime, Pope said they still looking for a temporary facility to replace the old central library which will be turned over to the Downtown Mission in June of 2019 as a residence for the homeless.

Right now, St. Clair College only has full service libraries at its main campus and the campus in Chatham, so France is keen on having one for downtown students.

"Having the opportunity to have students to actually leverage a full library and having a service agreement with the City of Windsor would be absolutely ideal from a teaching and learning perspective," said France.