UVic housing project costs $178M, way above peers in Canada

(Image courtesy of the BC Government)

Last week, the province of BC announced that it was constructing a new residence for the University of Victoria. However, its pricetag of $178 million is raising some concerns.

The 510-bed project, designed for upper-year undergraduate and graduate students, has 360 beds in 90 four-bedroom apartment-style units with 150 studio units. Per the province, other features include “amenities for students to connect, including a student lounge, outdoor and multi-purpose spaces, and a community kitchen” and a “secure athletic storage for sports equipment and bicycles.” The province went on to say that $121 million of the $178 million will come from the province and $57 million from UVic, with construction expected to start in 2026. This amounts to about $349,000 per bed.

BC projects expensive compared to others

While these projects are being done to help alleviate the cost-of-living crisis that impacts British Columbia, the cost per bed compared to other projects in Canada sees BC paying a higher premium. A similar project done at the University of Toronto Scarborough was completed at a cost of $142,000 per bed. Another was done at Lambton College in Ontario at $166,667 per bed.

Province has committed $2B

Since the start of the NDP mandate in 2017, the BC government has pledged two billion dollars to build on-campus student housing at post-secondary institutions throughout BC. The province claims that it has built 6,900 beds with an additional 4,800 on the way. “One of the biggest challenges facing students today is finding a safe, secure and affordable place to live close to campus” said Premier Eby in 2024, “that’s why our government is building new student housing at an unprecedented pace.”

While BC continues to deal with its housing crisis, it also deals with a fiscal emergency, given the recent credit rating downgrades and rising deficit. Clearly, with these issues mounting, there is a lot for Premier Eby and his team to discuss.