Fanshawe College says the purchase of the Kingsmill's building - a move to expand its downtown presence - has been finalized.
Fanshawe President Peter Devlin said in a statement, "The Centre for Digital and Performance Arts in the Howard W. Rundle Building has been a resounding success and we know that a London Downtown Campus is going to have a significant positive impact on the downtown with the energy of 2,000 students."
Classes at the Centre for Digital and Performing Arts - on Dundas Street directly across from Kingsmill's - began in January, bringing about 400 students to London's downtown core.
Officials say conditions were waived to finalize the purchase and the college is also working to finalize a Request for Proposals for the design phase, which should be issued shortly.
When complete, hopefully by 2018, the former Kingsmill's Department Store building is expected to house the School of Information Technology and the School of Tourism and Hospitality and bring another 1,600 students to the area.
The proposal to purchase the building got new life after London city council narrowly approved an additional $9 million for Fanshawe in September, on top of the $20 million already committed for the college's downtown expansion.
A first vote on the issue in July saw the motion defeated, but $1 million in funding from downtown businesses and amendments to possibly reduce the cost of the project to the city helped get the motion passed.
