482 beds of student housing open at SFU Burnaby campus (PHOTOS)

East/West Towers student residence at SFU Burnaby (Simon Fraser University)

Two new student residence buildings adding a combined total of 482 beds to Simon Fraser University’s (SFU) Burnaby Mountain campus opened this week.

All of the beds at the so-called East and West towers — seven and eight storeys, respectively — are in single-occupancy rooms, each roughly 110 sq ft, with residents also provided with 15 shared washrooms and shared laundry facilities on every floor.

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As well, each floor has communal lounges and study spaces, plus community kitchens, rooms for wellness, music, and activity, and multi-faith spaces.

Students are moving into the new residences under a COVID-19 health safety phased approach, beginning with the first 60 residents this week. All of the beds in both buildings are dedicated to first year undergraduate students.

sfu simon fraser university student housing east/west towers

East/West Towers student residence at SFU Burnaby (Simon Fraser University)

The opening of the residences comes ahead of the restart of full in-class instruction at post-secondary campuses across BC starting in September, which was green lighted by the provincial government earlier this year.

Over the coming months, demand for on- and off-campus rental housing across the region is expected to spike from the return of international and out-of-region domestic students.

“We know how challenging it can be to find affordable housing in our region, especially for students,” said Joy Johnson, the president of SFU, in a statement.

“The completion of this project is an important milestone in expanding our housing options. And we’ve kept our student needs at the forefront in designing these new, modern spaces, which include all the amenities and supports students need to make the most of living on campus.”

East/West Towers student residence at SFU Burnaby (Simon Fraser University)

These two buildings in the first phase carried a construction cost of $69 million. An additional two buildings for the second phase, located adjacently, providing a total of 369 additional beds, are set to reach completion in early 2023.

Upon the full completion of all five phases of the student residence expansion, SFU will see a net gain of about 1,700 student beds, increasing its student housing capacity from 1,764 beds to 3,250 beds by 2035 — enough beds to house about 10% of its full-time students.

UBC is also approaching the completion of a major student residence complex this summer, the $165-million Pacific Residence, located adjacent to the Walter Gage Residence. Five new buildings have a combined total of 940 beds for upper year students, with a phased occupancy schedule running from Fall 2021 to January 2022.

East/West Towers student residence at SFU Burnaby (Simon Fraser University)

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