Good to see this project moving forward, its been a long time coming. 200 four bedroom units will serve the student population well, and may spawn further development in surrounding neighborhoods.
The initial request for funding from the government should have included the option of a private-public partnership. I'm not sure of their reasoning for excluding private investment, perhaps the difficulty and expense of securing an satisfactory agreement was viewed as an obstacle.
University officials also expressed their desire to engage the public with respect to design and approval of a complete College Quarter (inclusion of market housing), another encouraging development.
And lastly, the ongoing possibility of a student residence tower constructed across from Place Riel. I'm thinking something along the lines of SAITs new student tower, that is, probably at least 10 floors (tallest building on campus is the Arts Tower at 11 floors of office space), possibly 15, can't imagine 20 or higher though.
U of S turns to private partners to build residence
Janet French, The StarPhoenix
Published: Thursday, September 11, 2008
The University of Saskatchewan is looking for private developers to jump on board after concluding it can't afford to build a new student residence with government support and student rents alone.
The university has put out a request for proposals to develop 200 four-bedroom apartments on university-owned land south of College Drive between Cumberland and Preston avenues.
What that building, or buildings, would look like and how much of the cost would be public or private is open for discussion, says Richard Florizone, vice-president of finances and resources for the U of S.
"We're really quite open-minded," Florizone said. "Ultimately, at the end of the day, what we're interested in is something that delivers the good student experience and has affordable rents."
The U of S has long been lacking residence spaces compared to its counterparts across the country, with enough on-campus housing for six per cent of the student population. After 30 years without building a residence, the university now aims to add 1,700 more residence spots to campus by 2012.
This first apartment-style complex, called College Quarter Phase 1, has an ambitious timeline: Sept. 26 is the deadline for proposals and Florizone hopes construction will begin next year, with the building ready to house students by the fall session in 2010.
If successful, College Quarter Phase 1 would raise the university's total number of residence spaces to accommodate nine per cent of the student population, Florizone said.
"This is the horse we're riding at the moment," he said. "This is the one we're really moving on."
The new approach came after Saskatchewan Housing in March turned down the university's request for $19 million to put toward 200 student family townhouses along Cumberland Avenue. That would have been a $50-million development.
Florizone didn't have a potential price tag for the new vision -- that will depend on developers' proposals and the funds available, he said.
University of Saskatchewan Students' Union president Josie Steeves says giving a private developer a stake in a student residence raises concerns.
"I think it's a sad situation that we're in," she said. "In a perfect world, we wouldn't have private developers doing these things."
It's important any new university residence is just that -- accessible to only students and rented out at prices meagre student budgets can afford.
"We don't want the residences to turn into condos, or just general apartment buildings," she said.
That said, the rental situation for students has become desperate enough the USSU doesn't care who foots the bill, as long as the residence rooms get built.
"If the universities are unable to build them themselves, I know the government has been really pushing them to (include) the private aspect," Steeves said. "If that can get the money to build the residences -- we just want them. We just want them built."
She's also skeptical the project will be done in two years.
Although the university is flexible about many of the details, there are some aspects of the project the U of S is firm on, Florizone said. First, the university wants to maintain control of the land and, second, the development won't be "just apartment buildings" but residences designed to accommodate student needs by including common areas and rooms for resident advisers.
"This particular project isn't about creating market housing," he said. "It's about creating student residences."
Florizone isn't sure who would manage the residences, or how much the rent would be, but the intent is to keep it at prices students can afford, he said.
The College Quarter plan is the university's aim to develop the quarter-section of land bordered by College Drive, 14th Street East, Cumberland and Preston. Once construction on the residence is underway, the university will begin consulting with the public about how the rest of the land should be best developed.
Florizone said the university is also brainstorming ideas for a new on-campus dorm-style residence targeted at first-year students. One consideration is a new tower next to Place Riel, he said.
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© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2008
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agreed. Sorry if I overeacted. Just got a new espresso machine 
. So it is not likely to change soon.
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