Student housing ‘showcase’

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This article was published 22/07/2024 (443 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Campus Suites’ eight-year vision for student housing in Winnipeg will finally come to fruition this summer.

The Toronto-based developer is putting the finishing touches on Align, its second mixed-use building at 2537 Pembina Hwy., across from the University of Manitoba’s Fort Garry campus. It will open for occupancy by the end of July.

The 16-storey, 397-unit (554-bed) development stands next to Phase 1 of the two-building project, the Arc — a 16-storey, 368-unit (570-bed) complex which opened in 2021.

“We’ve created two iconic buildings that I think will stand the test of time,” Henry Morton, president of Campus Suites, told the Free Press.

“To be able to be the pre-eminent buildings in the city for a long time to come, I find that exciting, for my family, for our partners, for the university, for the students — and I hope that we’ll help the university grow. That’s what great housing also helps people do.”

Align and Arc have been backed by City of Winnipeg Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverley West) since Campus Suites proposed the project in 2017. Lukes said the buildings, purpose-built for the student population, help fill a dire need for such housing near the U of M.

“This is the highlight of my whole time being a city councillor,” Lukes said. “It provides safe housing for students.

“When I was elected in 2014, the university had really realized the value of international students. The University of Manitoba has the lowest number of on-campus housing of all the large universities in Canada but they were bringing students in non-stop from all over the world and there was no accommodation for them,” she said,

“This developer honed in on this situation and … was so in-tune … and he actually worked with me and he worked with the community. I think we’ve got an absolute showcase, two buildings now, on Pembina Highway.”

The U of M logged a 2.9 per cent increase in enrolment when it welcomed 30,466 students on the first day of classes for the 2023 fall term. Its international student population increased to 6,915 from 6,527 the previous year.

Morton estimated 70 per cent of tenants at the Arc are international students.

The 765 units (and 1,124 beds) combined in the two buildings make a sizeable dent in the number of students being housed in spaces that aren’t code-compliant.

“U of M welcomes the emergence of purpose-built student housing in close proximity to (its) Fort Garry campus, which has eased the overall demand for on-campus housing,” said Barry Stone, director of student residences, in an emailed statement.

“We know that access to safe, affordable housing, close to campus, can contribute to student success and ease the transition for students moving off campus.”

The Arc and Align are the latest in a string of recent housing options to pop up in the south Winnipeg school’s immediate vicinity.

In 2021, 30 University Cres. added 108 units near the northwest entrance of the Fort Garry campus. Later, the Halo, a two-tower project at 3015 Pembina Hwy., later brought a combined 410 units, and the Bolt, at 2735 Pembina Hwy., opened 181 units.

(Halo and Bolt are not purpose-built for students, but many of those suites are occupied by people attending the U of M.)

Rental options at Align will run from $1,000 to $1,300 per month. The price includes utilities, internet and a turn-key suite that is fully furnished.

Approximately 7,700 square feet of commercial space on the ground level of the building is yet to be filled. Campus Suites expects it to be occupied by several tenants that offer similar services to those provided at the Arc (currently including a pizza restaurant and a dentist’s office).

“Our response has been great on site and our feedback is we’re having relatively low turnover,” said Morton.

“Our real goal … is we want to build community and if we build community, we building retention — people want to stay there — and if we build the retention, we build the recruitment that people want to come there. So, I guess, the proof is that we’re full.”

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca