For the first time in 25-years, a new student residence building is planned at the University of Guelph – a two-tower, 10-storey tall building with 1,500 beds.
“Doing something around student housing is critically important, I think, for the University of Guelph and I think it's what our community expects of us, too,” Byron Sheldrick, associate vice-president (academic), told GuelphToday in an interview. “It's going to be an exciting opportunity for us.”
The estimated $275 million project is set for the southwest corner of College Avenue and McGilvary Street. At this early stage in the plan, it is to feature two towers – one 10-storeys tall and the other seven storeys tall – with a shared podium.
In addition to student housing rooms, the conceptual design includes a first-floor dining hall and kitchen, multi-purpose and meeting rooms, laundry facilities, bicycle storage and more.
The building is to be “fully accessible” and designed to support the school’s effort to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2040, a news release explains.
Word of the project comes on the heels of numerous reports about the challenges students have had finding places to live in Guelph. In many cases, off-campus housing saw dozens of applicants for individual rooms or units.
“It's an underdeveloped piece of property the University of Guelph has and with the greater demand that we have, it's just an opportunity to develop those spaces,” noted Ed Townsley, associate vice-president (ancillary services). “As part of the greater real estate strategy that we're working on, it helps us open up the west part of campus for us.”
The school recently issued a request for proposals regarding the project and the design could change as that process progresses.
Funding for the new build will come from loans, said Townsley, with the goal of breaking even on expenses.
Earlier this year, under Bill 185, the provincial government exempted universities from municipal planning requirements.
Currently, the university provides 5,005 student beds, not including privately-run student housing operations. This new build will be entirely owned and operated by the university, Townsley said.
In a report released last month, university officials stated there were 28,370 students enrolled this fall. That includes 26,507 domestic students and 1,858 international students.
For the next school year, graduating high school students who receive an early admission offer to the U of G by March 1 will be guaranteed a spot in residence, provided their residence application is submitted by April 15.
This year, residences were reserved for international and out-of-province students, as well as those who deferred their admission by a year. The rest were made available through a lottery system.
In addition to the new building plans, the university is renovating existing residences to create more bedrooms, explained Townsley. That’s expected to generate about 250 more student beds in time for next fall’s incoming class.
