Eleven townhouses will be the first quarters ready for occupants this December in a 53-unit housing complex constructed to add much needed residential rental housing for faculty and staff on university grounds.
The townhouses are part of a development currently under construction south of Thunderbird Boulevard and east of West Mall. In addition to the 11 townhouses, the complex will include 18 two-bedroom cityhomes and 24 one-and two-bedroom apartments, all with a planned completion date of early next spring. This is the first portion of a two-phase, 95-unit project for the site.
"Unlike existing faculty and staff units, this housing is designed for long-term rental to build a real community on campus," said Derek Atkins, UBC's associate vice-president of Academic Planning. Currently, the university has about 300 temporary rental units, available for a maximum of three years, for faculty and staff.
Atkins says the new faculty and staff housing was designed to help the university in its faculty recruitment and retention efforts. As outlined in the university's vision statement, Trek 2000, UBC expects more than 45 per cent of its faculty and 30 per cent of its staff to retire by 2005.
Faculty deans and department heads have submitted a list of applicants for the townhouses to Atkins for endorsement. Successful applicants will be notified on Sept. 29 with the remaining candidates placed on a wait list for a future vacancy in the townhouses or a unit in the new apartments.
The new townhouses will be available for tenants on Dec. 1. Monthly rent for the 1,139-1,292 sq. ft. units will start at $1,400 for a two-bedroom and go up to $1,725 for a three-bedroom and den home.