Words by Caitlin Lichimo.
A 2023 survey conducted by the UBC Alma Mater Society reported that 57% of students experienced financial hardships due to the cost of housing — a substantial 17% increase from 40% in 2021. Graduate students in particular reported facing 20% more housing-related financial hardship compared to undergraduate students, highlighting the necessity of expanding on-campus graduate housing availability.
A new $560-million partnership to provide more student housing
Amid the ongoing struggle for students to find housing, UBC and the Province of BC announced a major $560-million partnership to build a new student residence complex in the Lower Mall Precinct, on the current site of St. John’s College. The venture represents the largest provincial contribution to any single post-secondary institution capital project in BC’s history, with the province contributing $300 million to the new complex.
This graduate student-focused community will include six new buildings ranging from eight to 22-storeys providing approximately 1,500 student beds. The development also features a 250-seat dining hall, a 37-space childcare centre, office space, and other amenities. Two central courtyards are planned, incorporating the adaptive reuse of UBC’s heritage Fire Hall.
Lower Mall Precinct project supports key UBC action plans
The project reflects UBC’s commitment to UBC Campus Vision 2050, UBC Housing Action Plan, and UBC Climate Action Plan 2030, which outline goals to enhance campus life and support students by providing exceptional, on-campus student housing, food services and childcare.
Notably, the development will feature climate resilient buildings, landscaping, low-energy, and water consumption features.
The structures will target Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification and net-zero emissions by 2035, with one of the structures a mass timber hybrid building. For the complex, the design team will focus on carbon resilience, biodiversity, and hydrology, and use materials to create sustainable spaces and enhance the well-being of inhabitants.
With the current bed count at 14,000, the 1,500 additional beds will get the university closer to its goal of increasing on-campus student housing to 17,300 beds by 2030.
Construction is scheduled to begin in 2026, with completion expected between 2028 and 2029.
Wesbrook Place’s Theory: The newest below-market UBC faculty & staff rental housing
The need for affordable housing isn’t limited to students. A 2022 assessment of UBC faculty and staff housing needs reported that UBC staff in single income households could not afford the cost of rent for new market rental units in Vancouver, and that UBC staff earning median income need additional household income to afford median rentals in UBC and University Endowment Lands.
“UBC has long recognized the need for affordable homes for its students, faculty and staff because we know the Metro Vancouver housing and rental market is financially challenging. That’s why, over the last decade, the university has invested heavily in building housing for our community, so UBC can continue attracting and retaining exceptional students, faculty and staff.”
- Gage Averill, Provost and Vice-President, Academic, UBC Vancouver.
Wesbrook Place’s Theory: the newest below-market UBC faculty & staff rental housing
Theory is the first of three new residential rental buildings at the southeast corner of Wesbrook Place. With a six-storey wood frame and sustainability-focused design, Theory adds another 137 below-market rental homes for faculty and staff.
Once all of three buildings are complete, the trio will add a total of 515 new units to UBC’s rental housing supplies. Two-thirds will be dedicated for faculty and staff, expanding the amount of workforce housing UBC provides.