Camosun College builds new student residence as UVic project stalls

As Camosun College builds its first-ever housing project, hundreds of students will soon avoid the pre-semester scramble of finding a place to live in the region’s competitive housing market.

The college’s new student residence building is expected to open in early 2029, with beds for 429 students.

“They can focus on their education, not figuring out how to have a roof over their heads,” said Diana Gibson, NDP MLA for Oak Bay-Gordon Head.

The six-storey building will stand along Foul Bay Road on the edge of Camosun’s Lansdowne campus in Saanich.

It will include studio, one-bedroom and four-bedroom dorms.

“Affordable housing means one less worry for students, allowing them to focus on their studies while easing the pressure on our local rental market,” Camosun College board chair Lindsay Kearns said.

UVic project paused

As the province celebrates its $151-million investment in the project, funding for a similar build at the University of Victoria has been delayed.

The province had committed $121-million for a 510-bed student residence at UVic, but is pausing the funding due to budget constraints.

“Why one project was chosen over the other is something I don’t know. But really, we should see the province investing in all these projects,” Saanich councillor Teale Phelps Bondaroff told CTV News.

The UVic housing project was set to open in 2029, but the completion date has been pushed to 2034.

“Between now and then, a lot of students will be exposed to potentially exploitative rental situations and face a hostile rental market,” Phelps Bondaroff said.

He said he and his fellow councillors wrote to the province to underscore the urgency of the build.

Gibson said she hopes it still happens.

“Camosun had no student housing at all on campus, and ensuring that there is student housing on this campus is really a first step,” she said.

“We are continuing to build housing elsewhere in the province. And as I said, aspirations are to see that UVic project go ahead as well.”