More details around new 500-bed student living facility announced in Brampton

Brampton’s Algoma University has announced details for their upcoming student accommodations, as a formal unveiling took place today (May 7) for a new 500-bed residence.

This announcement was primarily in response to the growing population of students in Brampton, as many academics from Ontario and abroad have been flooding the city. 

According to a report from last December, Algoma boasted an international student body of roughly 8,762. For Dr. Asima Vezina, president and vice-chancellor of Algoma University, the wheels of this student residence project have been turning for some time due to this urgency. 

“Before everybody was talking about the housing crisis in both Canada and Brampton, Algoma was hard at work doing a housing study because we, as a university, wanted to understand what we could do to ensure that we were doing our part in the student housing front,’ said Vezina at the official unveiling.

While addressing the tandem relationship between Algoma University and the City of Brampton, Vezina was able to share what will go back to the city, as the projected injections into the local economy from the university are set to be over $ 1 billion by 2028.

The project aims to break ground on Park Street and Nelson Street West by this fall, with Vezima hoping that those in residence will access Brampton’s downtown core in ways that benefit them and the city. 

“Our goal is to wrap every student in the support and service integrated into Brampton’s downtown living. This means free mental health care on campus 24/7 and a unique partnership with the YMCA. It also means partnering with the city’s library while also being a good partner for our students, as they find spaces in the community to study and learn,” said Vezina during the press event. 

Upon completion, amenities for the student residence will include single and double bedrooms, living spaces and kitchens. Additional in-building features include laundry rooms, event spaces and student parking.

University administrators have not been laying the groundwork for this project alone.

“I love seeing colleges and universities take on risk to make sure that we build housing in a way that hasn’t been before, and why am I not surprised that the first academic institution ready to work collaboratively with the government to meet this challenge, is Algoma,” said Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown at the press event. 

Beyond assistance from the municipal government, the mayor also hopes that better communication between city hall and city campuses will help all parties navigate the current climate of student intake, as federal authorities have recently implemented an international student cap. 

“It is not an easy time in education. I’d say it’s been more than a little bumpy with the changes. But, there was a bit of a wild west in education, and amid this change, there remains a great example, a gold standard in the industry of doing what we hope for, and that’s Algoma,” Brown told reporters. 

At the time of this report, no official date has been set for the project’s completion.