Applications are officially open for 148 students at East Village-Dalgleish to take up residence for the upcoming winter semester. The new modular development began construction in late 2022 and is now nearing completion.
TRU’s vice president, Matt Milovick, said during the Sept. 29 TRU Board of Governors meeting that although January 2024 will be the official opening of the building, some students may be able to move in as early as November in what he dubbed “a soft launch.”
The complex will consist of various single-bed and two-bed studio units that will host 148 students. These units will include private entrances, bathrooms, and typical dormitory furniture, including a desk, chair, closet, and dresser. Each unit also sports its own kitchenette with a fridge, sink, microwave, and cooktop.
Once officially opened to students, the development will mark the end of TRU’s first phase in growing East Village. Millovick said the next phase will be constructing another residence building next to East Village-Dagleish alongside Summit Drive.
“We have an application into the government again for another phase,” Milovick said. “This will be five stories, 76 beds. Probably a similar construction style [to East Village-Dalgleish], either a hybrid or fully modular.”
Nothing has been approved yet, but Milovick said TRU has been communicating back and forth with the government to try and get phase two started as soon as possible. If approval is confirmed soon, TRU hopes to have construction begin in the summer of 2024 for an ideal opening in the fall of 2025.
East Village’s original facilities were opened in 1994 by a private developer. However, TRU purchased these residences in 2018, allowing them to exercise greater control over the buildings and the finances involved. This was possible due to financial assistance from the provincial government.
“The government had just launched their student housing funding program, so they loaned us the money … One of our commitments when we bought it was to add about 110 beds,” Milovick said.
Through renovations since the purchase, TRU has converted larger apartments with only two or three suites into smaller units that can sometimes fit up to four students. So far, these alterations have increased the total number of available beds at East Village from 415 to 510.
The original purchase of the residence cost TRU $33.5 million, but it also included 2.2 acres of vacant land in the area. TRU is now putting that land to use.
This vacant land has been used as the grounds for the East Village-Dalgleish residence and will also be the site of the further planned expansion of East Village with phase two.
Always a hot-button issue in Kamloops, recent statistics show TRU’s housing prices have increased by 6.9 per cent as of the beginning of September. Students moving into East Village-Dalgleish’s single-bedroom units will pay $4,855 for the upcoming winter semester. In contrast, those in shared, two-bed units will pay $2,090 each.
Information on the East Village developments was presented at the Sept. 29 Board of Governors Meeting, along with the announcement of a brand new Indigenous Education Centre.
Student applications for East Village-Dalgliesh may be submitted through the TRU website—applications for Winter 2024 close on Nov. 15.