Student housing building with 188 beds opens at King Edward SkyTrain (PHOTOS)

Student housing building with 188 beds opens next to King Edward SkyTrain in Vancouver (PHOTOS)

GEC King Edward student housing (GEC)

A sizeable off-campus student housing building has just reached completion about half a city block east of SkyTrain King Edward Station within Vancouver’s Cambie Corridor.

The five-storey GEC King Edward building at 431 West King Edward Avenue provides privately-owned and operated accommodations for about 188 post-secondary students within 44 units of varying sizes and interior configurations, including shared bedrooms, en-suite shared bedrooms, private bedrooms, and one-bedroom private suites. Some of these units are two-level townhomes with up to five private bedrooms.

You might also like:

Each unit has its own full bathroom, kitchen, and laundry facilities, as well as a patio or balcony.

The units are fully furnished with flexible furniture and equipment designed for the unique needs of students, along with the provision of unlimited fibre-optic internet connections, 24/7 monitored security surveillance systems, and other features and services that GEC-branded properties are known for.

gec king edward student housing 431 west king edward avenue vancouver

GEC King Edward student housing (GEC)

This is the newest addition to Global Education Communities’ (GEC) growing portfolio of for-profit, market-rate student housing buildings within Metro Vancouver.

There is exceedingly high demand for student housing across the region, with this demand spilling over into the general rental housing market.

This building was practically completely pre-leased well before it received its occupancy permit in late May 2023. Throughout June 2023, the building’s inaugural tenants moved in.

GEC King Edward student housing (GEC)

According to Toby Chu, the chairman, president, and CEO of GEC, the building’s spaces were leased up five months before completion by the company’s network of partner schools and direct bookings placed by individual students worldwide. There is currently limited vacancy available.

GEC is a subsidiary of CIBT Education Group, which owns Sprott Shaw College and Sprott Law Language College. Both entities combined educate 11,000 students each year.

“Although it has taken us nearly six years to complete this project from land acquisition to development completion, we are pleased with the quality of workmanship and design, location, and market demands for our eighth GEC branded building,” said Chu.

In 2017, CIBT acquired the property and approved woodframe development design plans for what would later become GEC King Edward from local developer South Street Development Group, which had originally planned on building non-tenant specific secured market rental housing.

GEC’s total project cost for the acquisition and construction of the 48,000 sq ft building reached $52 million. It is now forecasting gross annual revenue of about $3.2 million from the building’s student leases.

GEC King Edward student housing (GEC)

GEC has grown into becoming one of the largest suppliers and operators of post-secondary housing in Metro Vancouver — the third largest after the on-campus student residence systems of the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University.

Several other GEC student housing buildings are also located along the Cambie Corridor, and major future projects are planned for Oakridge, Richmond City Centre, and Surrey City Centre — all adjacent or within a short walking distance of a SkyTrain station.

You might also like: