UBC Housing recently announced that they will be including micro units in the construction of the new Gage South residence project.
The units will be 145 square feet and have a bed, a kitchenette and a toilet in their floor plan. By way of comparison, the average single dorm room in Ponderosa or Vanier is around 108 square feet.
Rent for these micro units will be between $650-700 per month in 2019, accounting for inflation.
When asked whether or not these are affordable units for students, Managing Director of Student Housing and Hospitality Services Andrew Parr said, “That’s not a question we can answer easily. Is it affordable for a student who has no income? Probably not, but I guess, what is?”
The idea to build these micro units “spun out of the fee increase conversation for which affordability is such a big issue for so many students -- how can we continue to add new units, build to meet demand, but do so in a way that can help to address affordability as well?” said Parr.
“I think UBC Student Housing and Hospitality Services has created an innovative solution to the need for more on-campus student housing and I'm excited to see this proposal develop. I look forward to seeing students get engaged in testing out this idea, its accessibility and the positive effect it could have on campus housing,” said Veronica Knott, undergraduate representative on the Board of Governors.
Right now, the number of micro units that will be constructed represents a small portion of the units within the Gage South project, which will be 606 units when completed, and an even smaller fraction of the total number of residence units on campus by 2019. However, if the units are not successful, it will be easy for the university to knock down a wall and combine units, as they will be built side-by-side, according to Parr.
Parr said that the main goal was to get more students on campus.
“Students that reside with us now, compared to the students who resided with us say 10 years ago, are having a much better overall experience,” said Parr. “UBC 10 years ago in the summer was very quiet and the weekends very quiet and the nights very quiet. But now there’s a vibrancy that exists like it would in a city.”
For now, Parr hopes that the UBC SHHS will be able to work with the AMS to create a model micro unit for students to test out and provide feedback.