In its early years, MacEwan operated out of a number of small store-front-style campuses in Edmonton. The facilities included
Old Scona School (10523 - 84 Avenue), the Worker's Compensation Board (WCB) building (10048 - 101A Avenue), 7th Street Plaza (10030-107 Street), and the former Dominion Store in Cromdale (8020 - 118 Avenue), with offices and administration located in the Canada Trust building (10150 - 100 Street). In 1988,
Don Getty's provincial government committed $100 million for the construction of the City Centre Campus which, at the time, was
Alberta Advanced Education and Technology's largest single capital project in its history. Construction on City Centre Campus began in 1991 on the former site of the
Canadian National rail yards on the northern fringe of the city's downtown core. The land was donated by CN. In September 2009, MacEwan University's Board of Governors approved a plan to move all of the university's operations—spread across four campuses at the time—to the main City Centre Campus. The first step of this consolidation was taken with the opening of the University Service Centre in April 2011. Construction for the new Centre for the Arts and Culture began in 2014 on the west end of the City Centre Campus, and opened in the fall of 2017.
City centre campus City Centre Campus houses the majority of MacEwan University's degree programs. The campus is also home to university courses, diplomas and certificates in health, human services and business. Most of the university's administration is located at City Centre Campus as well. The south entrance to the main complex is contained within the centremost of the three groups of concrete spires, which also contains a public clock. The main complex consists of a long grouping of structures stretching from east to west: the 105 Street Building (Building 5), the 106 Street Building (Building 6), the 107 Street Building (Building 7), and the
Christenson Family Centre for Sport and Wellness (Building 8). Between each of these buildings is grouping of four concrete spires which gives the campus its distinctive look. Each of these groupings of towers forms a
terminating vista both when viewed from the north or the south, interrupting the streets after which the buildings are named. The towers which terminate 107 Street also feature public clock between the spires on the south face. The section of 108 Street to the south of the campus is known as "Capital Boulevard" and runs to the
Alberta Legislature Building seven blocks to the south where it forms another terminating vista. A pedway over 109 Street connects these buildings to the Robbins Health Learning Centre (Building 9, 2007) and the University Service Centre above the parkade (Building 10, 2011). Another pedway connects Building 9 to Allard Hall (Building 11, 2017) MacEwan Residence is a 13-story building and the only building not connected by pedway. In addition to a bicycle storage room, a hockey equipment storage room is also available for resident use. The Christenson Family Centre for Sport and Wellness houses a pool, fitness centre, spin studio, mind/body studio, and
gymnasium. It is home to the MacEwan University Griffins basketball and volleyball programs who play in the Canada West conference of
U Sports. It is also the training facility for all Griffins teams including soccer, cross country and the hockey teams who compete out of the Downtown Community Arena. Sport and Wellness was also used as the home of the
Edmonton Chill, later the
Edmonton Energy of the
International Basketball League, for two seasons (2008 and 2009). In 2017, the university began construction of a 50,000 square foot student union building next to the Christenson Family Centre. The building is three stories tall, and held its official opening in January 2020. Allard Hall located on the west most side of the MacEwan downtown campus was completed and opened in September 2017. It is a 420,000 square foot building that houses the Faculty of Fine Arts and Communications. May 9, 2024, was the groundbreaking for the new School of Business building. Featuring 30 classrooms, 20 collaborative spaces, and 15 study areas. The building will have approximately 376,000 square feet and is stated to be open and completed by the 2027 winter term. ==Former campuses==