Ecological testing underway as campus revises master plan

There will be some extra activity at the University of Toronto Mississauga later this month as workers conduct soil tests on campus.

“Crews are assessing and testing many areas across campus for the master plan,” says Tammy Cook, executive director of Facilities Management & Planning. UTM is currently updating its campus master plan, a process that occurs every 10 years. Surveyors are reviewing the entire property, and workers have been tagging and conducting an inventory of trees to assess their health and those with protected status.

For two weeks at the end of July, crews will drill bore holes deep into the ground to collect soil samples along Outer Circle Road near the north entrance, Cook noted. “It may be a little bit noisy but we will be doing our best to minimize impacts on our close neighbours.”

Future development in the north-west quadrant of campus (across from Deerfield Hall on Outer Circle  Road) is being discussed, Cook noted. Although any current work in this area is preliminary, UTM has long-term plans for an arts, culture and technology building.  Any development is contingent on governance and planning approvals from UTM, U of T and the City of Mississauga, she emphasized.  

UTM has not submitted any formal development plans for this area to the city. “We are testing and assessing our property to see if it’s viable for future development,” Cook says. “We are a few years away from anything going in the ground.”

Undergraduate enrolment will remain at a steady state for the next several years while graduate studies will expand. More spaces across the campus are needed to conduct advanced research in the sciences, social sciences and humanities.

UTM has taken a sustainable approach to development, maintaining the natural look and feel of the campus. “We love the forest, the trails, and the deer. We want to keep all of that,” Cook says. “We also need space to expand, so we’re balancing those needs. This is one reason why we are updating our campus plan. ”