Work is starting at North Island College’s Courtenay campus on what is expected to be a first-ever student housing project on the site.
A total of 217 beds will be built in the $77.2-million “student housing commons,” consisting of two four-storey buildings constructed with mass timber.
It’s part of an effort by the province to see 8,000 new student-housing beds built by 2028 in B.C. to help relieve a tight supply of affordable rental housing.
The project in Courtenay, along with another in Nanaimo, is to open by fall 2025.
Craig Whitton, North Island College’s director of student affairs, said the project will make education more accessible for students from north Island communities, providing a “healthy, safe, and comfortable place to live for our students, who do often struggle to find stable housing due to the nature of the housing market in the valley.”
Every student housed on campus frees up a rental unit in the community, which “helps everyone,” he said.
Another benefit of on-campus housing, Whitton said, is that it creates a sense of community for students.
“Loneliness and isolation is a significant challenge for all post-secondary students, and it has profound impacts on mental health,” he said. “Living on campus in our new complex will ensure students are connected to peers and in many cases those relationships last a lifetime.
Among the new units at the Comox Valley campus, 157 will be individual rooms and 20 will be family suites, with a total of 60 beds. The family suites will all be in one building.
The project is designed to be a “multi-generational, inclusive, accessible, Indigenized, welcoming space for all students,” the college said. Short- and long-term stays will be available.
Buildings will include outdoor play areas for children, community gardens and interfaith rooms.
The college has also partnered with PlacesForStudents to encourage local residents to rent out a room or suite to students in Campbell River, the Comox Valley, Port Alberni and Port Hardy.
Whitton said all of the college’s students are believed to have secured stable housing. “We are incredibly grateful to the North Island communities we serve for their support of our students.”
The college could be in line for more funding for the project. Selina Robinson, minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills, is expected to make an announcement on Tuesday.
In Nanaimo, a new $87.8-million, nine-storey residence at Vancouver Island University, using mass timber, is also set to open in the fall of 2025 with 266 new beds. The new residence will bring the total number of student beds on campus to 802.
In Greater Victoria, Camosun College says it’s working toward building student housing on its Lansdowne campus. The college currently has no on-campus housing, but says it’s a priority. This week, Camosun confirmed it wasn’t able to fill all the slots in its nursing program, speculating that was due in part to lack of affordable housing in the area.
A location has not been finalized for student housing on the Lansdowne campus, but the preferred site is the Dawson building, the college said on its website.
On-campus student housing will allow students to focus more on their studies rather than worrying about where to live, it said.
UVic has the largest number of student housing beds on Vancouver Island, with about 2,900, the highest number to date. Two new housing buildings opened last year, adding a total of 621 beds. One building has 398 beds and the other 385.
The university said it was able to provide housing for all first-year students who applied by the May 30 deadline.
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