Montreal triples spending on student housing in Plateau

Montreal funding student housing (Oct. 2018) Montreal has proposed a $1.6 million project as part of a plan for 12,000 affordable housing units.

The city of Montreal's Executive Committee has approved a $1.6 million plan to build student housing in the Plateau-Mont Royal borough.

Last year the city agreed to spend $500,000 for the project by UTILE (l’Unité de travail pour l’implantation de logement étudiant), but will now triple that spending.

The end result will be the construction of a 144-room, 90-unit student residence at 3499 Papineau Ave. with views of Lafontaine Park.

The building. which will include a mix of studios and two-, three-, and four- bedroom apartments, is scheduled to be constructed and to admit its first tenants in 2020.

Mayor Valerie Plante said there is an urgent need for student housing in Montreal, which has 135,000 university students.

"We are recognized around the world because of the many universities we have, the eleven big institutions we have, and so we're proud of that and so we also need to assure that students can come to Montreal and live at an affordable price. And also by supporting this great project it also means that it will take pressure off the rental market and some of those big apartments can be used by families that are also looking for options," said Plante.

The city of Montreal plans to spend $18 million on creating low-cost housing throughout the city.