SCARBOROUGH, ONTARIO. Centennial College has opened Centennial Place, a new eight-storey 740-bed student residence on its Progress campus. The Scion Group completed a feasibility study for the new residence in 2012 and went on to advise the College in its selection of a third-party development team to create the new facility.

Ernst & Young’s Toronto-based Corporate Finance group assisted Scion in this project. The 353,500 square-foot multi-use facility was designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects and was developed in a partnership between Centennial College and developer Knightstone Capital Management. The project features high-efficiency glazing and highly insulated walls and roofs in addition to a green roof and water-saving elements.

The facility, which introduced new residential and academic space to campus, also includes the College’s Culinary Arts Centre and a conference and banquet centre. The student residence surrounds a courtyard garden featuring local grasses. The two- and four-bedroom units feature private bedrooms, one or two bathrooms and a full kitchen. Community amenities include a small grocery store, study room, games room, yoga studio and screening room.

Established in 1966, Centennial College is Ontario’s first community college, primarily serving the eastern portion of the Greater Toronto Area through four campuses and seven satellite locations. It has a record of exemplary teaching, innovative programming and extensive partnership building. Centennial is recognized as one of the most culturally diverse post-secondary institutions in Canada. Nearly 100 ethno-cultural groups are represented and 80 languages are spoken on campus.