A rendering of the new, nine-storey student residence building at Vancouver Island University, set to house over 200 students. (VIU)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

MORE BEDS

‘Vital to a vibrant, healthy university:’ new on-campus housing coming to Nanaimo VIU campus

Sep 2, 2022 | 12:13 PM

NANAIMO — A new nine-storey housing complex is coming to the Nanaimo campus of Vancouver Island University.

Through $87 million in funding from the provincial government, 266 new student housing beds and an attached dining hall will begin construction in spring 2023, with projected completion for fall 2025. VIU is contributing the remaining $800,000 required for the project.

Deborah Saucier, president of VIU, said during the Friday, Sep. 2 announcement, the spaces will go a long way to dealing with a housing crunch for students attending the university.

“We have a 300 person wait list right now, so this will clear a backlog. But importantly for every student who doesn’t get into space here on campus, there’s one rental unit out there in the community, so it’s almost double the effect.”

Current dormitory capacity is 536 students with spaces reserved by the spring and an extensive wait list come the start of school in September.

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With little space available on campus, students turn to the local rental market to find a place to live which further stresses available supply.

Space is becoming so scarce, VIU had to drop their guaranteed residence placement for first-year students due to lack of housing spaces. Instead, students were given priority, but that doesn’t guarantee them a space.

The university has taken steps to try and mitigate this stress with the hiring of an off-campus housing coordinator who works to link landlords and incoming students.

Saucier said additional on-campus housing works in concert with the coordinator’s work.

“For some students, living on campus is the ideal situation,” Saucier said. “They may not have access to transportation that they need, or they may have special accessibility needs and this new project will really, really work to deal with accessibility challenges for our students.”

Some of the existing student housing already on the VIU campus, home to 536 students with an extensive wait list. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Cole Reinbold is a third-year business administration student and community leader in VIU student residences. She said living on residence her first year was a life-changing experience, and helped her grow and excel.

“It allowed me to excel at my studies because I wasn’t spending an hour a day communicating to and from like my classmates were. I was able to live close to like-minded people, make life-long connections, all while being at most, five minutes away from the farthest class on campus.”

Originally from Fort St. John, Reinbold said available student housing was a big factor in her decision to first attend VIU in 2017, and stressed the importance of this option for all students.

“Student residences are vital to a vibrant, healthy university culture. It makes postsecondary most accessible to people of all backgrounds because of the affordability.”

The new building will be a hybrid mass-timber building and uses the former coal-mine shaft system beneath the campus to help heat and cool the building.

It will be located at the eastern edge of the student residence area, just off Fourth St.

This housing announcement is on the heels of a $3.3 million provincial grant announced on Aug. 29 aimed at making VIU more inclusive and accessible.

Minister for advanced education Anne Kang announced $87 million in provincial funding for a new student residence building at the Nanaimo VIU campus. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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