Nova Scotia spending $8 million to help increase housing options for post-secondary students

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The Nova Scotia government announced it will be spending $8 million towards increasing student housing options and maintaining residences.

The money will be divided between two sites in Sydney and in Halifax.

"We have an urgent need for more housing options for students around the province, and we continue to listen to our post-secondary partners and take action," said Brian Wong, the minister of Advanced Education.

"Students are at the centre of everything we do, and this investment is part of our province wide student housing strategy that will help ensure they have a comfortable and safe place to live and study now and in future."

In Sydney, $5 million will go towards the Tartan Downs housing project, which is a mixed-use development that will include student housing.

Following completion of the work, the Tartan Downs development will have around 430 residential units, with about half intended to be affordable.

Cape Breton University and the Urban Neighborhood Development Association are partnering on this project.

"The Cape Breton region is managing growth for the first time in many decades. With this growth comes new challenges including providing affordable housing for the community, which students play an integral role in," said Gordon MacInnis, the interim president and vice-chancellor at Cape Breton University.

"We are thrilled that the Government of Nova Scotia recognizes this and is making this investment in the community. This kind of investment has the potential to positively impact the lives of the community for generations to come."

In Halifax, the province will spend $3 million on preserving and maintaining student accommodations at the Atlantic School of Theology (AST), which are used by students from several institutions.

The province says the work will include brickwork, new plumbing, Wi-Fi system updates, upgrades to the shared kitchen and bathroom facilities. The number of beds will also increase from 65 to 97.

"Updating student housing at AST will allow AST to continue to offer student housing to local university students. This funding means that we will be able to address the needs of more students by providing additional affordable housing in HRM," said Tim O'Neill, interim president at the Atlantic School of Theology.