At the Planning and Budget Committee (PBC) meeting on January 8, the committee unanimously recommended a $350 million project to address U of T’s infrastructure backlog — a measure that one committee member described as “one of the more important things” the board discussed. However, one committee member questioned whether this investment sufficiently addresses the university’s $1.2 billion backlog.
U of T also revealed at the meeting that it struck a $20 million deal to acquire early occupancy of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) buildings at Spadina and College.
Deferred maintenance’s moment in the sun
The university’s deferred maintenance ballooned to $1.2 billion in 2023. At the PBC meeting, members recommended that U of T embark on a three-year, $350 million project to repair and update almost 440 systems across the university.
In the words of Vice-President, Operations and Real Estate Partnerships Scott Mabury, deferred maintenance is “not a sexy problem.” However, putting off infrastructure maintenance updates leaves buildings in disrepair, can pose safety risks, and often leads to higher costs in emergency repairs when systems reach their breaking point.
Most U of T buildings sprung up during two construction booms: one in the 1960s and 1970s — when the university built more than half of the square metres that now make up UTSG — and one in the 2000s. The maintenance update schedules for both construction booms line up, leaving the university scrambling to manage both. Increased construction costs since the pandemic cut into the university’s funds for deferred maintenance funds and extreme weather events linked to climate change limit progress and raise costs.
Mabury noted that U of T has spent “less than best practice” on deferred maintenance in recent years, spending $49.2 million in 2023. Although the provincial government-funded construction for many campus buildings, U of T receives only nine million dollars from the provinces for UTSG facilities renewal each year. Mabury noted that universities in other provinces tend to receive far more; for instance, McGill University received $112 million from the Québec government from 2019 to 2020 for deferred maintenance.
These factors drive a deferred maintenance backlog that U of T estimates will grow to almost $1.9 billion by 2034. According to Mabury, the growing issue raised “alarm” among U of T’s credit agencies, spurring the university administration to propose a large investment.
To choose which maintenance issues to address, U of T assigns each of its 4,000 systems — such as a specific building’s ventilation or electric system — a five-point score based on its condition, and current and expected future use. U of T’s Chief Operating Officer, Property Services & Sustainability Ron Saporta noted that the university prioritizes teaching and research spaces for maintenance over administrative buildings. Most maintenance would take place on UTSG because it is larger and older than the other two campuses.
If approved by the Business Board during its January 29 meeting, U of T will take out $250 million in debt, paying $17 million annually in principal and interest for the next 25 years. The administration has been in talks with academic divisions, some of whom may want to contribute additional funding for deferred maintenance in their buildings. Saporta told the board that this project would also lower utility costs by increasing energy efficiency.
Rita Kandel — professor and chair of the Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology and a PBC member — questioned whether the investment was enough. In response, Mabury noted that the university’s policies constrain the extent to which it can take on debt; if U of T devoted more money to deferred maintenance, it would have to focus less on building new buildings.
“I’m just wondering if we have to rethink what new buildings we want to… build, given what we’re working in,” Kandel said. In 2024, six new buildings at U of T reached the final stages of construction.
Mabury said that U of T hopes its $300 million contribution will prompt the provincial government to provide additional funding. He said that U of T’s need to take out debt to repair Ontario government-funded buildings represented an “embarrassment for both the province and the university.”
“We need to do better, but we need the government as a partner to do a lot better,” Mabury told the board.
Getting the keys
In 2017, U of T spent $123 million to purchase four acres of land at the Spadina and College intersection, which it leased to CAMH. The centre initially planned to occupy the building and land until CAMH’s lease ends in 2038,
At the meeting, Mabury revealed that U of T struck a deal with CAMH: in exchange for $20 million, U of T will begin occupying CAMH’s Ursula Franklin site on February 1 and the university will gain full control over the CAMH building by 2030. Mabury suggested that the pandemic shutdown “really moved [CAMH’s] hand,” noting that the building on Ursula Franklin Street was already “completely vacant.”
Staff and administrators currently working in 215 Huron Street will move to the Ursula Franklin buildings, clearing the way for the university to demolish the former and potentially build a new academic space related to data science and quantum.
“We’re taking over downtown Toronto,” joked Chief Financial Officer Trevor Rodgers.
Endowment
The PBC also reviewed faculty and initiatives funded by donors and approved by U of T President Meric Gertler between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024. In total, Gertler approved 18 endowed chairs, 14 limited-term chairs, 12 professorships, one lecture series, and one visiting lecture.
The majority of the endowed positions went to the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. Temerty also received the most money out of any faculty in U of T’s quarterly lists of large donations from May 1, 2023, to January 31, 2024.
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