After 26 years in 10 temporary locations, staff and students at the John Di Poce South Georgian Bay Campus are finally settled into their permanent new home. Georgian will host an official grand opening of the 20,000-square-foot campus in Collingwood on Monday, Oct. 17.

Did you know?  

• Georgian started offering courses in Collingwood in 1984 through the Blue Mountain Foundation for the Arts at the Old Coach Stop building on Hurontario Street. That summer, a technical upgrading program was created for displaced workers after the shipyards closed. The program was held in community meeting rooms in the Collingwood Town Hall.
• In May of 1985, Georgian moved into leased facilities at 209 Hurontario Street. The campus started with two classrooms and added several more during its three years in the strip mall.
• In 1988, the campus was moved into larger leased facilities at 101 Pretty River Parkway. This was followed by a move into a 17,000-square-foot facility at 49 Huron St. in 1994 and a downsizing to a 5,400-square-foot location at the same address in 2002.
• Space was rented in the Wasaga Beach library in 2007. After being given short notice by a landlord in 2007, the campus moved into leased space at 44 Hurontario St. (the former federal building) and multiple other sites.
• Georgian was able to lease additional space in Wasaga Beach in 1988 and additional classroom space at 191 Hurontario St. in 2007.
• For the past several years, Georgian has been operating from numerous temporary locations, including a local church and nursing homes. Enrolment and programs have been limited by the capacity of rooms within the multiple rented facilities.
• With the opening of a permanent home in Collingwood, Georgian can offer a positive model for community and private partnerships. The John Di Poce South Georgian Bay Campus will have high visibility and an increased profile in the community, particularly since the Highway 26 bypass route is planned along Poplar Sideroad. For the first time, public transportation will be available to students taking any of the programs the campus offers.
• The new building will accommodate 250 full-time students and more than 3,000 part-time students annually.