Nearly $90M student housing and dining hall project announced at VIU

The Vancouver Island University campus in Nanaimo, B.C., is shown. Nov. 15, 2017. (CTV Vancouver Island)

Students attending Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, B.C. are getting more on-campus housing options through a massive $87.8-million expansion project.

The project includes 266 new student housing beds and a dining hall by summer 2025.

The province announced it was providing $87-million towards the $87.8-million project on Friday.

"Post-secondary students need access to affordable housing to complete their studies, remove barriers to education and lay the foundation for their future – making them future-ready for the jobs tomorrow," said Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training, Anne Kang, in a statement.

The new housing will increase on-campus student accommodations from 536 beds to 802 beds.

"Secure, stable and affordable housing is essential for students to be successful at their studies," said VIU president and vice-chancellor, Deborah Saucier.

A joint statement by the province and VIU said construction on the nine-storey, hybrid mass-timber building will start in spring 2023.

The space will also include a common area for students to study and gather.

The added housing supports could help improve pressures on the surrounding rental market. Data from the Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation shows, the City of Nanaimo’s rental vacancy rate is 1.6 per cent, with the average two-bedroom unit rental costing $1,360 per month.

The statistics are from October 2021. CMHC said it’ll be conducting its next Rental Market Survey in October – with those results published in early 2023.