U of T’s Faculty of Law has decided not to relocate and to instead pursue an expansion project at Falconer Hall and Flavelle House, its current facilities.
At the moment, the Faculty does not have adequate facilities for its offices, student spaces, and classrooms. A report from 2001 found that the faculty needed at least another 1,300 square metres of building space.
An improved professor-to-student ratio and the growth of student programs have intensified the problem. The two existing buildings also have accessibility barriers that need to be addressed.
The faculty considered moving to the site of the current Admissions and Awards building, at the intersection of Bloor Street West and Devonshire Place, across from Varsity stadium, a partly empty lot known in U of T planning parlance as site 12.
However, on April 12, 2006, law dean Mayo Moran reported that an advisory committee on the matter strongly favoured staying at the current site. They argued that “something of the law school’s character and history would be lost if the Faculty were to move.”
Falconer Hall and Flavelle House were built in 1901 and 1902 and have been designated heritage properties by the City of Toronto. “Everyone,” Moran said, “feels very attached to this site.”
Other options included expansion into the Faculty of Music building and occupying space in the defunct ROM planetarium. However, the Faculty of Music has expressed no desire to move and the planetarium redevelopment plans are uncertain.
By December, a project committee will determine exactly how much additional space is needed. The expansion project is expected to take four years: two years of fundraising and design and two years of construction.
Moran hopes it will be completed during her time as dean. “I would be just delighted to pass that on to the faculty and students,” she said. Meanwhile, the faculty is considering short-term options such as renting additional facilities.
