UFV Five Corners opens in downtown Chilliwack

UFV President Mark Evered with Chilliwack Economic Partners Corp. President Brian Coombs (left) and BMO Senior VP Mike Bonner (right) cut ribbon on new UFV Five Corners location in downtown Chilliwack. UFV Elder Theresa Neel, UFV Chancellor Brian Minter, Chilliwack Councillor Ken Huttema, Chilliwack MP John Martin and guests look on.

A new hub for post-secondary education is opening this fall as the University of the Fraser Valley’s newest facility. Located at Chilliwack’s historic Five Corners at 46115 Yale Road, the former Bank of Montreal branch now houses a classroom, computer lab, meeting rooms, and offices in the 7,000 sq ft space.

UFV Five Corners will be home to a variety of courses and programs offered by UFV’s Continuing Education department. It will also be available for community bookings and meetings, programming by other UFV departments, and customized contract training through Continuing Education at UFV.

The UFV Five Corners location — valued at $850,000 — was donated to the university by the Bank of Montreal. The Chilliwack Economic Partners Corporation (CEPCO) provided $850,000 to renovate the building and managed the renovation project. UFV provided $150,000 for furnishing, IT services, and other improvements.

The architectural firm for the project was Craven Huston Powers of Chilliwack.

“This excellent and much needed new facility is a prime example of what can be achieved when corporate and community partners work together with our university,” said UFV President Mark Evered. “Through the generosity of the Bank of Montreal and CEPCO, we are so very proud to open this new location in the heart of historic downtown Chilliwack. We look forward to playing a vital role in the ongoing revitalization of the area.”

Craig Toews, UFV Executive Director of Campus Planning, is happy to see the project completed and ready to welcome students.

“UFV is excited to have a presence in this new location and will be working with community partners to develop programming and events that will enhance Chilliwack’s downtown. Actively engaged with CEPCO, the Chamber of Commerce, the Business Improvement Association, and Walas Concepts, UFV will be reaching out to other Chilliwack organizations to develop programming and other uses for our Five Corners location,” said Toews.

South Fraser Community Futures has also partnered with UFV, relocating their offices from Abbotsford to this new location.

“In addition to new educational programming starting in October 2014, our hope is that the business-focused collaboration at our new UFV Five Corners location in Chilliwack will enhance entrepreneurial activities in the community and be a resource to downtown businesses,” Toews added.

Liana Thompson, Director of Continuing Education for UFV, is enthused about the possibilities of the new location.

“We are very excited about creating a space geared towards working professionals who want to gain specific, applied, career-focused skills,” she says. “Our typical student will be somebody who already has some post-secondary education and is establishing their career. They will come back to augment and refine skills specific to their profession.”

Slated to run this fall are professional seminars in fundraising basics, banking sales and service, and screenwriting, to name a few.

Longer programs to be offered at Five Corners include certificates in Human Resources Management and Records Management in the fall, and a Public Relations certificate in the new year.

“We want to hear from the community about their vision for this location,” said Thompson. “We encourage people to contact UFV Continuing Education with their ideas for courses and programs. We can also offer customized contract training to local businesses and organizations on topics they want their employees to learn about.”

To share your ideas for programming at UFV Five Corners, contact Thompson at 604-792-0025, local 4527, or liana.thompson@ufv.ca. You can also check out all UFV Continuing Education fall courses and programs at ufv.ca/ce.