Capital priorities

Capital priorities overview

UBC maintains a comprehensive plan for the development and renewal of institutional infrastructure to meet evolving academic needs as well as the needs of our growing campus communities. A complete list of current and planned major capital projects for UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan is provided in this website. This list continues to be refined as our Capital Plan evolves, projects are completed and new projects advanced.

UBC Five-Year Capital Plan 2022-23 to 2026-27

To develop capital priorities for future consideration, the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training (AEST) annually requests Five-Year Capital Plan submissions from all post-secondary institutions. The Five-Year Capital Plan provides AEST with a high-level understanding of UBC’s capital requirements for new priority expansion projects, replacement/renewal projects and capital innovation projects.

UBC has developed a jointly funded Capital Plan which addresses core academic needs, aligns with Provincial priorities and was developed in accordance with the University’s established Capital Planning Principles. The proposed projects were selected by the UBC Executive based on their potential to contribute to the University’s strategic priorities, operational performance and risk mitigation priorities. These projects were prioritized from a longer list of Academic Facilities projects identified through on-going consultation with Faculties and Departments.

The proposed projects were evaluated and prioritized using an assessment model that considered how each project contributes to the University’s strategic objectives and operational performance & risk mitigation objectives.  The prioritization criteria were as follows:

1. University Strategic Priorities

• Support for President’s Academic Excellence Initiative (PAEI) – 10% weighting
• People & Places – 15%
• Research Excellence – 30%
• Transformative Learning – 30%
• Local & Global Engagement – 15%

2. Operational Performance and Risk Mitigation

• Health & Safety (e.g. seismic risk) – 25%
• Performance & Reliability (e.g. deferred maintenance) – 25%
• Legal / Regulatory / Reputation – 25%
• Business Case – 25%

Final  selection  of  recommended  projects  for  the  Five-Year  Capital  Plan  included consideration of additional factors such as alignment with government priorities, funding potential, current state of project development, and other strategic considerations.

Input on the capital planning process and capital priorities was sought and received from the following groups:

• Committee of Deans and Deans’ Council (Vancouver and Okanagan, respectively)
• Indigenous Partners – Musqueam (Okanagan Nation Alliance, planned for 2022)
• Property & Planning Advisory Committee
• UBCV Senate Academic Building Needs Committee
• UBCO Senate Academic Building & Resources Committee
• Vancouver Subcommittee of the Council of Senates Budget Committee
• Alma Mater Society, UBC Students’ Union Okanagan (pending)
• Graduate Student Society
• Alumni Association
• Building Operations and Energy & Water Services, UBC Okanagan Campus Operations
• UBC Properties Trust (for information)

The proposed UBC Five-Year Capital Plan includes priority academic projects totalling $1,881.3 million with a request to the Provincial Government for $896.0 million in funding. Demolitions or renovations associated with the new construction would reduce UBC’s deferred maintenance by $226 million and improve seismic ratings on specific buildings. In addition, the progressive construction standards that UBC uses will reduce the greenhouse gas emissions as well as the energy and water use on the campus.

As careful prioritization of proposed capital projects is critical to ensure that limited capital is directed to help UBC achieve  its  goals,  these  projects  have  been  ranked  to  align  with  UBC’s strategic and operational objectives.

The projects proposed are shown in the following table:

¹   The construction of each of these buildings allows UBC to address one or more of its higher risk seismic buildings on the Vancouver campus

Vancouver Campus Proposed Projects

Okanagan Campus Proposed Projects