Published by Communications and Public Affairs (519) 824-4120, Ext. 56982 or 53338
News Release
August 22, 2001
New student townhouse complex set to open
More than 3,000 first-year students will be moving into residences at the University of Guelph on Sept 2. The University’s residence guarantee ensures that all first-year students who applied by the due date will be accommodated on campus. In addition, close to 2,000 upper-year students will also be living on-campus, an increase of more than 600 over last year. The increase is due to the addition of the new East Village townhouse complex, designed specifically for upper-year students. In all, U of G will house more than 5,000 students in its single and family residences in 14 different living environments, making it one of the largest and best-established university housing systems in the country.
The schedule for the opening of the new townhouse complex is extremely tight, but the majority of units are nearly completed and some 500 upper-year students are expected to move into the apartment-style residence rooms by the time classes start officially on Sept. 10. However, it is anticipated that 19 of the 164 units in the new complex that were expected to open by Sept. 9 may not be ready until after that date. The University is making contingency plans to ensure that the 80 affected students are provided alternate accommodations for the interim period involved. “We are planning for a contingency period of one to three weeks depending upon the unit,” said Brenda Whiteside, associate vice-president (student affairs).
The alternative plans include the affected students residing temporarily at two nearby hotels, at the University’s expense. Residence life staff will be located at the two hotels to provide assistance. Students will not be charged residence fees until they move into their rooms, and will receive a reduced-price meal plan, secure storage for their personal belongings, free parking during the interim period and assistance moving into their townhouse when it is ready.
“We are very excited about the new East Village residence complex and the fact that for the first time in several years, we are able to accommodate almost all the upper-year students who applied to live on-campus,” said Heather Lane, the new director of Student Housing Services. “However, we are also concerned about the possibility that some students may not be able to move in by the start of classes. Construction delays have created some glitches, but everyone is working 120 per cent so we can be fully operational as soon as possible after the start of the semester. In the meantime, we will assist all students with alternate, temporary accommodation.”
There are an additional 18 units that will not be ready until the end of September. “We are now grateful that we took the precautionary measure of not assigning students to these units back in June,” said Blair Capes, assistant director, Student Housing Services. “However, we have a number of students who have indicated that they want to move into them when ready, so we are working to get these units on-line as quickly as possible.” It is anticipated that all the residences, including the family housing units, will be full again this year.
The townhouse complex, which has been under construction for just 12 months, is the capstone of U of G’s student residences. The townhouses have either four or five bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a shared living area.
Contact:
Brenda Whiteside
Associate vice-president (student affairs)
(519) 824-4120, Ext. 3868
For media questions, contact:
Communications and Public Affairs,
(519) 824-4120, Ext. 3338.
