New residence building will welcome more students to campus

Although cranes no longer dot the campus skyline, capital construction projects designed to meet the needs of UVic’s growing student population are continuing. At its March 31 meeting, the Board of Governors approved the latest capital project, a new student residence building.

Set to break ground in June, the building will help to address the increasing demand for residence accommodation from first-year students.

“UVic guarantees that every student entering first year from high school will be offered a place in residence,” says Jim Anglin, associate vice-president academic and student affairs. “Additional housing is required to ensure UVic can meet this demand without further limiting the availability of housing for some continuing students as well.”

The 3,351-square-metre building will include 21 student dorm rooms on each of the four lower floors, plus student suites on the upper floors, for a total of 106 units. The project also includes a proposal to relocate the Residence Life department to an accessible and visible location on the lower floor.

Following an assessment of three possible sites, the joint campus planning committee and facilities development and sustainability sub-committee recommended a site at the south end of parking lot 5, east of the Cadboro Commons Building. The site was identified in the 2003 Campus Plan as being suitable for future residential development, due to its proximity to existing student services in the Cadboro Commons.

The university has retained Stantec Architecture to develop design drawings of the new seven-storey facility, which will largely replicate the nearby 126-bed residence tower (completed in 2004) in form and design. The building design meets a key Campus Plan direction to accommodate more floor space within a smaller building footprint, to minimize environmental impacts. It is expected to meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certification level.

The target completion date for the project is August 2010, with occupancy in September.

OPEN HOUSE INFORMATION SESSION: Thursday, April 16, 3–7 p.m., Cadboro Commons (Campus View Room)

Campus construction update

The Enterprise Data Centre, a new facility that will meet the university’s growing needs for computing capacity and server storage, will be substantially completed in April. The new facility is located north of McKenzie Ave., between the Technology Enterprise Facility parking lot and T Hut. For information contact Consulting Project Coordinator Nazir Jessa at 250–721–6103 or njessa@uvic.ca.

First Peoples House will create a welcoming and supportive space on campus for Indigenous students and the broader community. Construction began in May 2008, on a central site inside Ring Road between the Clearihue and Cornett buildings. The building, targeted to achieve LEED gold certification, is scheduled for completion in July. For information, contact Project Officer Larry Wilkinson at larryw@uvic.ca or 250–721–7597.