York University took a major step toward construction of a new Engineering Building, with a groundbreaking ceremony for the $85-million project. The new Engineering Building will be home to the Lassonde School of Engineering, which aims to graduate entrepreneurial engineers with a social conscience and a sense of global citizenship.

The 169,000-square-foot, five-storey building will accommodate academic space for three engineering disciplines – electrical, civil, and mechanical engineering. Design workshops, project areas, classrooms and laboratories will be included in the five floors of space. Special emphasis has been placed on social and public areas that will encourage undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate students to mix with faculty members and researchers.