NSCC students in Dartmouth and Stellarton have new housing for the fall, the first built for the college as part of the government’s housing strategy, released in 2021.
The Akerley campus in Dartmouth will get 100 beds, which cost $24.1 million, and the Pictou campus in Stellarton will get 50, which cost $16.1 million, according to a news release from the province.
Lynn Hartwell, vice-president of campuses and community, said rooms at the Dartmouth campus are fully booked.
“It’s not shocking at all. We know the demand is very high,” said Hartwell.
There are a few left at the Pictou campus, but she didn’t say how many students are on the waitlist for housing. The amount varies as they find other arrangements, which happens “right up until move-in day,” she said. She said only in the last weeks before the school year would they know a more accurate waitlist.
In a four-bedroom suite, rooms cost about $950 a month. The three-bedroom suite costs a bit more at about $1025 a month. The single-bedroom costs the most at about $1107 a month. These prices include $500 of “dining dollars” per term, wifi, utilities and parking, the website said.
Hartwell said rooms are priced that way to cover the cost of operating the building.
The average one-bedroom apartment in Halifax cost $1215 a month in 2023, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The city also has a 1 per cent vacancy rate, they said.
A dorm room, which is part of a multi-room suite, at the NSCC Akerley campus in Dartmouth is pictured on July 22, 2024. (Jacob Moore/Acadia Broadcasting)
“I think $1100 [a month] is a good price point for students,” said advanced Education Minister Brian Wong.
He said the government is trying to build housing as fast as they can.
Since the government revealed their housing and homelessness strategy in 2021, the dorms in Dartmouth and Stellarton are the first student housing projects to be finished. The projects themselves were announced in November 2022, according to a news release.
The province also announced 200 beds would go to the Ivany campus in Dartmouth, which are still on track to open for September 2025.
About 270 beds are planned for several campuses: Kentville, Springhill, Bridgewater and the Institute of Technology in Halifax.
The government funded the construction of both locations. Those costs won’t have to be repaid or accounted for in the school’s budget, either, said Wong.
“We don’t want to profit off of students coming into housing projects for NSCC. So this student housing project is set as affordable as possible,” said Wong.
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