NSCAD to move from historic downtown Halifax

NSCADUniversity occupies arabbit warren of classrooms and studios inside a block of Victorian buildings betweenGranvilleandHollisStreets.

The school has been located there since the 1970s, but last week, the board of governors decided it is time to leave.

"This was never designed and built as an art and design school and university. We inhabit these historic buildings, and as charming as they are, they don't necessarily meet the standards we require," NSCAD presidentDianneTaylor-Gearing said.

The cost of renovating the buildings, which housethe university's Fountain Campus,is $25million.

The university received a $3-million dollar donation last Julyand began discussing how to spend it.

It concluded moving made the most sense.

No decision has been made onwhere the students will goor what will be done with the buildings.

The university says it will come up with a plan with all those details by the end of 2019.

"A lot of studentsreallyunderstand why this decision was made because when they inhabit these hallways, they see the walls falling apart, they see the constant upkeep that is required,"GabrielSoligois the student union president said.

"They see their studios suffer because of that as well."

Canada's oldest independent arts universityhasstruggled financially in recent years, and currently faces a $13-million debt.

The university hopes to move to an integrated campus by the endof 2019.

Its other campuses include the Academy Building on BrunswickStreet and a 6,500-square-metre building on the city's waterfront.

The school said last year it was making progress on reducing itsdeficit and debt.

It flirted with the idea of merging with another university inthe city to help ease costs, but concluded an affiliation would notlead to savings and could actually cost more.