Oak Bay councillors expressed their support for Camosun College's first-ever student dormitory at an April 14 council meeting, highlighting the proposal's potential to meet housing targets and ease other burdens in the district.
Announced on July 17, 2024, the building will be raised on the Oak Bay side of the school’s Lansdowne campus on an underused parking lot just off Foul Bay Road. Slated for completion in the fall of 2027, the six-storey, timber-frame dormitory will offer single, studio and quad units for a total of 423 beds. The B.C. government put $151.7 million toward the project, with the remaining $3 million coming from Camosun.
“We all know that housing is a challenge in today’s world,” said the school’s director of campus planning and capital projects Tyson Loreth. “We also recognize that having student housing going forward helps academically, personally ... and [it helps] the community.”
According to Mark Holland, the project's principal planner, 118 units could help Oak Bay meet its provincially mandated housing targets.
Brian Green, the district’s deputy director of community building and planning, explained units equipped with a kitchen and sanitary facilities would indeed count as dwelling units, according to information he received from B.C.'s Housing Ministry.
"Ultimately, the province is a bit mercurial on this at the best of times," added Oak Bay Mayor Kevin Murdoch.
At present, 800 Camosun students have an Oak Bay address, according to Loreth. The dormitory units could free up some of these suites, apartments and homes.
“A lot of the housing pressures we have are student-related,” said Murdoch. “It really does potentially free up housing for other needs.”
For students living outside of Oak Bay or neighbouring communities, the project would reduce travel times to school.
“Seventy-three per cent of our student population comes from Vancouver Island,” said Loreth. “Forty per cent of those domestic students live outside of the CRD.”
Holland added that the project's related utility improvements, along with approximately $1.3 million in development and amenity cost charges, would benefit Oak Bay.
“It's an exciting project, and I’m sure it would be very welcome at Camosun. Nice that it’s moving forward with provincial support,” said Coun. Esther Paterson.
She asked the presenters about how the building would affect parking.
"At the moment, there are around 223 empty lots within the Lansdowne campus at the highest day of use over the last year," said the project's manager Glenn Cook. "After construction of the building, we’re expecting a net decrease in student demand of about 190 [parking spaces]. Ultimately, that’s because we’re going to have 423 beds and students on campus that won’t be commuting."
One Oak Bay resident at the council meeting expressed concerns that the dormitory, in conjunction with a proposed 13-unit townhouse development on Lansdowne Road, would increase traffic flow in the area.
A community open house, where locals can voice their support for or opposition to the development, is slated to take place in four to six weeks.
