Quote:
Originally Posted by Winnipegger
Money is the reason. For most of history, the demand for on-campus living at the UofM wasn't very high due to most students being from Winnipeg or Manitoba. And those from Manitoba but not Winnipeg would often choose to find housing in the surrounding neighborhoods because it would be cheaper.
Living in residence is expensive, and as such, demand for it in a campus that primarily served Winnipeggers and Manitobans was minimal, especially when they already lived in the City or had family they could stay with.
Only recently (last 15 or so years) has international enrollment picked up, pushing demand up for living spaces near or on campus. I believe that residences at the UofM have long wait lists now, but given the fiscal constraints many public institutions in Manitoba face and the long list of pending projects the University has on it's plate, significant investments in residences likely won't happen because there are so many other things that need to be done that have been on hold for much longer. That, combined with the precarious nature of international enrollment means that building residences in Manitoba is probably risky when the University's return on investment is stretched over several decades.
On the flip side, the University's hesitation to significantly expand it's residence offerings (aside from Pembina Hall) has likely benefited home owners/landlords in Fort Richmond along with apartment and condo developers looking to invest along Pembina, Bison, and University Crescent.
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Yeah, I didn't flesh out my original note well enough.
There's ongoing complaints about illegal student housing in Fort Richmond and other locations just off campus. Well, if you had attractive options that were on campus that would be somewhat mitigated.
Those two campuses I cited were very nicely compact and relatively self-contained. You can walk/bike pretty much everywhere and get to the services you need. UBC is different than UWash, as it's off on the point and fairly isolated from the rest of the community. Heck, they have their own high school on campus! UWash isn't physically separated from the surrounding community, so you have the immediate neighborhoods serving almost exclusively the housing, service, and entertainment needs of the campus.
The Southwood development is, in typical Manitoba fashion, decades behind the curve.