UBC Capital priorities

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 on the Projects on Campus page. The proposed project list continues to be refined as our Capital Plan evolves, projects are completed and new projects advanced.

UBC Five-Year Capital Plan 2025-26 to 2029-30

To develop capital priorities for future consideration, the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills annually requests Five-Year Capital Plan submissions from all post-secondary institutions. The Five-Year Capital Plan provides the ministry 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:

University Strategic Priorities

Operational Performance and Risk Mitigation

Final selection

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:

Proposed projects

The proposed UBC Five-Year Capital Plan includes priority academic, student housing and IT projects totaling $2,340 million with a request to the Provincial Government for $1,709 million in funding. Demolitions or renovations associated with the new construction would reduce UBC’s deferred maintenance by $173 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  Project scale and costing is under review.

For information on the agenda package and minutes of the Board Committee meeting, visit UBC Board of Governors.