The three Niagara dailies (Niagara Falls Review, St. Catharines Standard and Welland Tribune) reported that construction is underway on Niagara College’s new 75,000-square-foot health sciences wing, with site preparation now in progress at the Welland Campus.

The new facility will support expanded enrolment across NC’s nursing, PSW, dental and paramedicine programs, addressing workforce gaps, rising student demand, and the needs of a growing and aging population.

The article highlights that the project is part of a broader expansion at NC, noting that at the Welland Campus, a new 145,000-square-foot residence with 323 beds is expected to break ground in the coming months, while at the Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake, the College is preparing to officially open its $12-million Horticultural and Environmental Sciences Innovation Centre (HESIC) greenhouse this fall.

NC Communications Director Michael Wales is quoted in the article mentioning that the official groundbreaking for the “transformative project” is planned for this fall. He noted that the site-prep work includes the removal of existing berms in the southeast area of the Welland Campus adjacent to the existing Applied Health building, as well as levelling the site, protecting existing plants and trees where possible and salvaging usable topsoil and landscape boulders for reuse.

“This expands capacity in health-care programs where there is excess student and employer demand — it’s key to our strategies for enrolment growth and for addressing the shortage of front-line health-care workers,” Wales added.

Read the August 31 article here.