City council passes downtown student housing initiative

The city says a new downtown housing incentive will encourage residential development over the coming years.

City council unanimously passed a downtown student housing initiative Tuesday in hopes of kick-starting developments in the heart of Edmonton.

Part of the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF), the $15-million Downtown Student Housing Incentive will help alleviate construction costs for housing built to meet student needs.

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“Having more student housing built in the downtown core, where students are actually coming to study, I think adds to that affordability factor and the things we want to improve for our students,” said Mayor Amarjeet Sohi.

“If we can build 500 additional student housing (units) in the core of downtown, that is good for our economy, affordability, downtown vibrancy,” he said.

Successful applicants can receive up to $30,000 in capital costs per unit of student housing. The funding comes from the federal HAF and is administered by the city.

The program will prioritize proposals for new buildings, developments on infill-ready sites, and projects in the Warehouse Park area north of Jasper Avenue between 108 Street and 106 Street.

Round 1 of the application intake period closes Sept. 30, with the second round closing on Dec. 31. If there is a third round needed, it will close on March 31. The structure, time-sensitive process aims to ensure timely project delivery in alignment with the HAF.

Ward Dene Coun. Aaron Paquette said he knows of one developer who is “shovel-ready.”

“The first awards will be sometime in the next six to seven weeks,” Paquette told reporters after the council meeting. “By the end of September, we could see activity really quick.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Miriam Valdes-Carletti