THUNDER BAY – “In order to sustain and grow our current student base, we needed to explore how we could best support attractive and affordable accommodations for our students,” said President Jim Madder. “Our goal with the Student Village is to provide on-campus living in an environment built around our learners and their success. The Village will also contribute to Thunder Bay’s economy.” Students relocating to northwestern Ontario contribute approximately $14,551 each per year over and above tuition.
Confederation College provided its response to the critical accommodation shortage in Thunder Bay. The Student Village/Accommodation project will, upon completion, provide 256 beds for students to support the College’s continued growth in international students, and to help attract students from other parts of Ontario and Canada.
The Student Village will include three elements: accommodation, recreation and student success. The initial phase of the accommodation element has begun, which involves the construction of the first two of four student accommodation buildings. These two buildings are scheduled to be completed by fall of 2015.
Each new 3.5-storey (four floor) building will house 64 students in fully furnished apartment-style accommodation, with four bedrooms per unit. When the first phase is complete there will be 128 beds available.
Chahat Desai, a first-year Broadcasting student, knows all too well the benefits of living on campus. Currently living in Sibley Hall, Desai looks forward to the new accommodations. “I love living on campus,” said Desai. “It is convenient and allows me to focus on my studies, spending less time and money traveling within the city. More spaces for students to live is an important step to attract people from outside of Thunder Bay to the College.”
Chris Cartwright, President of the Student Union (SUCCI) agreed that the new Village/accommodations will be a significant asset in bringing students to Thunder Bay. “The new Student Village will further build on the sense of community our students feel at Confederation. In addition to providing much needed spaces for our students to live, the Village will offer central recreation opportunities and student supports. SUCCI is proud to be a part of the development process.”
Private sector partner, Campus Living Centres (CLC) has been and will continue to work with Confederation College in developing the Student Village project. CLC has an impressive track record with other educational institutions. Close to home, they have worked in North Bay with Canadore College.
The total investment for the project will be $35 million with construction time estimated to be between 180,000 and 200,000 hours. Tom Jones Corporation is the contractor responsible for the execution of the construction.
