UBC opens new mixed-use building with 282 student housing beds

Construction progress on the UBC Brock Commons South student housing building, as of July 2, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

The third and final building of the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) Brock Commons student residence complex has officially reached completion.

Built on the former footprint of the old Brock Hall annex at the southeast corner of the intersection of East Mall and Walter Gage Road, the 13-storey south tower of Brock Commons is a mixed-use building with academic and administration spaces within the lower levels and student residences within the upper levels.

“UBC is committed to providing living spaces on campus at below-market rates because we know the Greater Vancouver rental market is very challenging,” said Andrew Parr, associate vice-president of Student Housing and Community Services for UBC, in a statement.

“Brock South is the latest demonstration of that commitment.”

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Brock South has 282 beds, which is now 100% occupied after opening earlier this summer. It features 212 studio units, six one-bedroom units, and 16 four-bedroom suites. In a release today, UBC states Brock South’s monthly rents based on a year-round contract are $1,463 for a studio, $1,673 for a one-bedroom unit, and $1,211 for a studio.

Within the lower levels of Brock South, there are classrooms, common meeting rooms, study spaces, and other academic and administrative spaces for the Faculty of Arts, as well as a legal clinic space for the Peter A. Allard School of Law, and offices for the Vice President Students. This building also features the food services of Hero Coffee and Harvest Market, a multi-faith space, and two childcare facilities. A grand atrium within the lower levels brings together the building’s non-residential uses.

Layout of the UBC Brock Commons South building. (HCMA/UBC)

ubc brock commons south student residence construction july 2 2024

Construction progress on the UBC Brock Commons South student housing building, as of July 2, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Public atrium within the academic and administrative spaces in the lower levels of the UBC Brock Commons South building. (Matthew Ramsey/UBC)

A classroom in the lower levels of the UBC Brock Commons South building. (Matthew Ramsey/UBC)

The completion of Brock South follows the Summer 2023 completion and opening of Brock North located across the street immediately to the north — an 18-storey tower replacing a previous informal grassy area and surface parking lot. Brock North has 316 beds.

The total cost of building Brock North and Brock South — a combined total building floor area of about 328,000 sq ft — was $165 million. Both buildings were designed by architectural firm HCMA.

Combined with the 18-storey Brock Tallwood House immediately to the east, which has 404 beds and was the tallest mass-timber building when it reached completion in 2017, the three-building Brock Commons student residence has a combined total capacity of 1,002 beds.

Layout of UBC Brock Commons’ North (left) and South (right) buildings, with floors coloured in yellow highlighting student housing uses and other colours highlighting a range of non-residential uses. (HCMA/UBC)

Construction progress on the UBC Brock Commons South student housing building, as of July 2, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

The completion of Brock South brings UBC’s student housing capacity to 16,003 beds, including 13,883 beds at the Vancouver campus in Point Grey and 2,120 beds in the Okanagan. The university has built over 6,000 beds at the campuses since 2010.

Such student housing projects provide capacity relief for not only UBC’s on-campus student housing supply, which now sees annual wait lists in excess of 8,000 students, but also the general rental housing market when students are not competing with other residents, workers, and students of the region.

As announced earlier in August 2024, UBC is now turning its attention towards redeveloping the Vancouver campus’ St. John’s College into 1,500 student housing beds, providing a net gain of 1,333 beds on the site. The yet-to-be-named student housing complex will consist of five buildings up to 18 storeys, including an eight-storey hybrid mass timber and wood frame building. Construction on the $560-million St. John’s College site redevelopment is expected to begin in Fall 2026, with a phased completion and opening starting in Fall 2028. By Fall 2029, the complex will reach full completion.

Another major student residence project at some point in the future will be the redevelopment of the Place Vanier Residence, which was mostly built in the 1960s.

Construction progress on the UBC Brock Commons South student housing building, as of July 2, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

UBC has a target to build 4,800 additional student housing beds over the next 10 to 15 years, with the cost, as of 2023, estimated at about $1.4 billion. This includes 3,300 additional beds at the Vancouver campus and 500 additional beds at the Okanagan campus. The completion of the St. John’s College site redevelopment will account for about one-third of the planned gains for the Vancouver campus.

UBC is also currently constructing a 509-ft-tall, 45-storey mixed-use tower in downtown Kelowna with up to nearly 111,500 sq ft of academic space within the lower levels of the building and 503 units of student housing within the upper levels. To date, there have been some geotechnical issues with the development site’s ground conditions.

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