Campus Master Plan

Durham College (DC) and Ontario Tech University (Ontario Tech) are refreshing our Campus Master Plan (CMP)—a roadmap for how we’ll shape the future of our shared Oshawa campus. This updated plan builds on a decade of growth and change since the 2015 document was created, weaving in new data, trends, priorities, and insights from our campus communities and partners.

More than just a planning document, the CMP reflects our shared commitment to academic excellence, student experience, research, sustainability and community connection. It’s designed to guide future decisions about campus spaces and infrastructure, ensuring we continue to meet the evolving needs of both institutions, students and the community.

What makes this plan—and our campus—truly unique is the collaborative spirit that defines it. DC and OTU share more than just buildings; we share a vision for innovation, learning and impact. Our partnership is a model of how two distinct institutions can work together to create a vibrant, inclusive and future-ready environment for our community.

Our shared campus is a collaborative environment unlike any other, fostering innovation, enriching the student experience and strengthening our broader community.

With this as our foundation, our CMP is being refreshed through a collaborative process that includes consultations with external partners such as the Region of Durham and City of Oshawa, as well as input from DC and OTU students, employees, and leadership. The result will be a thoughtful, future-focused approach that supports the distinct and shared needs of both institutions for decades of continued success.

Notable updates

• New spaces for learning and innovation

  • Highlighting the next six potential buildings and the corresponding changes to the surrounding areas.
    
    
  • Identifying five development areas, and an additional 83 acres that will become increasingly valuable and available for partnerships and/or ground leases.
    
    
  • Inspiring creativity and driving academic success—that’s the vision behind our new academic and multi-purpose buildings.
    
    
  • Supporting cutting-edge research, collaborative learning, and a vibrant student life with thoughtfully designed and safe spaces.
    
    

• Sustainable campus for the future

  • Creating a campus that meets today’s needs while preparing for our future.
    
    
  • Ensuring we invest in greener infrastructure, expand green spaces and remain focused on energy efficiency.
    
    
  • Keeping campus mobility in mind by moving parking to the outside of campus. Getting to campus will be simpler for all with expanded bus routes and ride-share hubs to ease congestion.
    
    

• Elevating community engagement

  • Establishing a welcoming, full-service campus anchor and gateway at Simcoe Street North and Conlin efficiently. 
    
    
  • Offering new athletic facilities and modern enhancements to support our students in competing at all levels.
    
    
  • Providing a central space for students and the campus community to come together to enhance school spirit.
    
    
  • Promoting a culture of wellness, connection and active living across our campus.

• Honour campus origins and traditions

  • Acknowledge and reflect Indigenous heritage and other cultural and historical influences, including Windfield Farms, through cultural placemaking and future develeopment.

• Share campus resources
  

  • Optimize resources through the sharing of land, buildings and amenities—between the institutions—with industry and business partners, and with the broader Oshawa community.
    
    

• Enhance accessibility and promote walkability

  • Extend and improve the pedestrian and roadway network to expand transportation choice, advancing safer mobility options and public transit, in balance with private vehicle use.
    
    

• Ensure a healthy and safe campus

  • Foster a climate of resilience and sustainability with buildings, operations, ecological conservation, and integration that support health and well-being. 
    
    

• Planning and design directions

  • Durham College and Ontario Tech can create a more contemporary, community-oriented, and sustainable shared campus by establishing a distinct and accessible front door that signals the arrival to a mixed-use, transit-oriented, campus village and welcomes the entire academic community and its visitors.
    
    

• Design directions: 

  • Create a distinctive, welcoming shared campus gateway at the southwest corner of Simcoe Street North and Conlin Road.
    
    
  • Demand best practices in energy-efficient, low-waste infrastructure and building performance standards that help achieve net zero energy targets by 2050.
    
    
  • Develop an adjacent bus loop as part of advancing accessibility, walkability, safety and sustainability in the campus transportation model.
    
    
  • Enhance legibility, wayfinding and branding throughout the shared campus.
    
    
  • Incorporate a full range of shops and services that, along with academic and partner office space, will catalyze a year-round community and campus anchor.
    
    
  • Locate and scale new, primarily mid-rise buildings to fit the existing context, and to connect directly to the campus’ walkable open-space network.
    
    
  • Shift on-street and surface parking north of Conlin Road, and improve its design.
    
    
  • Use landscaping to re-inforce accessibility and walkability, and to capitalize on the spectacular setting on the Oshawa Creek watershed.

Read the draft Campus Master Plan