Close to 800 units of new UVic student housing now under construction will help ease the crunch in the capital region’s tight rental market, says Premier John Horgan.
The first of two buildings is set to open in 2022, with the second opening in 2023. Units will be offered at market rent, Horgan said in a Monday teleconference.
“Whether you are a new or returning student, you know that finding affordable housing near campus can be a difficult assignment,” he said.
Students have been struggling in today’s job market to get work and save money for school because of the impact of COVID-19, he said.
The project includes two new housing buildings and a new 600-seat dining hall outside Ring Road, south of the Student Union Building. The structures will replace the Cadboro Commons and two older residential buildings, the Margaret Newton and the Emily Carr.
Work on the construction site started in January.
The buildings will have traditional dorm rooms and new community-living-style rooms, which include single rooms with a shared kitchen and living area, UVic’s website says.
The project features 621 new beds and 162 replacement beds, a 600-seat dining hall, a commercial kitchen, a small grocery store and a coffee shop. New student group and study spaces — including an Indigenous student lounge — communal social spaces, laundry facilities and secure indoor bicycle storage are planned.
With 75 per cent of students arriving from outside Greater Victoria, it has long been a priority for UVic to provide more on-campus housing, said Gayle Gorrill, vice-president of finance and operations.
A temporary 500-seat modular dining hall will be ready this fall and will be used until the new one is completed in 2022.
Setting up the short-term dining hall allowed the plan to be moved ahead one year to 2022.
The $232.4-million project is the first major capital project since a new capital plan was developed in 2016.
B.C. is contributing $128 million, with $98 million from the student housing initiative for beds and a separate loan of $25 million toward half the cost of the dining hall. The remaining $5.2 million will be provided as a capital grant. As well, post-secondary institutions are expected to self-finance about 25 per cent of costs with loans repaid through rental income.
The buildings will be constructed to LEED Gold and passive-home standards, said Melanie Mark, minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Training.
The B.C. government is spending $450 million to build housing for about 5,000 students.
