NSCC’s Marconi Campus Moving to Sydney’s Waterfront

Nova Scotia Community College’s (NSCC) Marconi Campus will have a new, contemporary home on Sydney’s waterfront.

Premier Stephen McNeil announced the location today, Aug. 2, at a community event in Sydney. The campus will be relocated to the downtown Sydney waterfront on the Esplanade, approximately between Falmouth St. and Crescent St.

“The Sydney waterfront is the perfect place for a new community college campus,” said Premier McNeil. “This new campus is an investment in our students, the community and is a welcome addition to Sydney’s evolving downtown.”

The vision of the project is to create a campus with a dynamic learning environment that will attract students from across the province. It will have a modern design, open spaces and state-of-the-art technology.

More details will be available once the land purchases are finalized and the detailed design and development has been completed.

“As Nova Scotia’s community college, we are continually looking at new options to extend our reach and enhance our work to help build the province’s economy and quality of life,” said Don Bureaux, president, NSCC. “This is a great opportunity to support the revitalization of the downtown.”

Site preparation will begin immediately. The new campus is expected to open in September 2024.

NSCC will release requests for proposals shortly for:

• architectural design and engineering services
• construction management service
• site inspections, including environmental and geotechnical site assessments

The cost for detailed design and development of the new campus, including site preparation and land acquisition, is about $18 million. The project will be funded by the province.

"This news will change the course of history for downtown Sydney,” said Michelle Wilson, executive director, Sydney Downtown Development Association. “The large number of students and staff of NSCC who will be coming downtown on a daily basis will provide a great opportunity to increase business for our many shops, restaurants, and services. We are excited for the positive changes that having NSCC in our downtown core will bring.”

The new campus will be designed and built in accordance with accessibility standards and guidelines following the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification Program and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) environmental standards. LEED is one of the most widely used green building certification programs in the world.