In November of last year, the District of Oak Bay granted two major approvals for Camosun College to move ahead toward building its first on-campus housing at the Lansdowne campus. After receiving Official Community Plan and rezoning amendments, plans are underway to begin construction in the spring of 2026. The building will feature over 400 beds in a variety of unit types, as well as lounges and other spaces; it will be located where there’s currently parking off Foul Bay Road.
The provincial government is contributing $151.7 million to the project, and Camosun is contributing $3 million.
Camosun College Student Society Lansdowne executive Regina Cervantes is very excited for student housing to come to Camosun, and she says that other students are as well.
“The students think that it’s going to be a great program and it’s going to be very beneficial for everyone, especially because it’s so hard to afford to get housing around the campus,” says Cervantes. “And there are a lot of students that have to come from far away like Sooke or other places, so we think it’s going to be very beneficial.”
Cervantes says that one issue that’s been raised is regarding how the project will impact international students. She says that while some feel it will make finding housing easier and cheaper, others are concerned about the possibility of international students having to pay more for housing than domestic students.
“I think we are going to have to wait and see the [cost], because it’s usually more for international students,” says Cervantes. “I think it will be beneficial because they will have a place to stay on campus and it’s going to make their life easier. I’m an international student and it was so hard trying to find housing here while living back home. It’s very hard to move to a new country, so if you have it here, that’s amazing. So, yeah, I think its going to be beneficial, but we’ll have to wait and see how much they’ll need to pay to be there. That’s the only thing that I’m afraid of, that its going to be double or way more and they won’t be able to afford it.”
When asked if international and domestic students will pay the same housing charges, a spokesperson for the college said that rental costs and policies will be finalized closer to project completion.
Cervantes says that another concern students have is over the loss of parking.
“That’s one thing that students that do drive are worried about,” she says. “There’s parking, and it’s very expensive to start with, and there’s not a lot of space there. They do not like that and they’re worried about where we are going to park, and they are not very happy about that.”
But Camosun director of campus planning and capital projects Tyson Loreth says that he and his team have calculated that parking space shouldn’t be a problem.
“The college has done a significant amount of assessment,” he says, “and has determined there is ample parking and we are able to accommodate the loss of the parking spots where the building will sit.”
Loreth says that he and his team have been looking forward to building the student housing for years and are very excited to get construction underway.
“The college has been trying to and looking to build student housing, all the way back to 2015, I think. And so, it has been a goal for the college to provide on-campus housing for students for the better part of 10-plus years,” says Loreth. “We have been working really closely with our government partners, the college, and our local municipality Oak Bay to support the project and get it to the point where it is today.”
Loreth sees a lot of value in the project finally being built, believing it will help students as well as the community.
“From the college’s standpoint, providing safe and affordable accommodation does multiple things,” he says. “One is, it is safe and provides an area for people to be supported. Also, financially, the rooms will be at market rate to be determined and therefore will allow students to go to Camosun College and gain a post-secondary education at a reasonable price. It also allows other secondary dwellings around the college, where those 420 students would have to reside, an opportunity that could be presented to the larger community. Getting them out of basement suites or other secondary accommodation they would need, now they can be on campus.”
He also says the project allows the college to have community, adding that it’s also an opportunity for those who want to go to Camosun but can’t because they can’t find or afford housing.
“By us having student housing, we lend ourselves to students who want to live and learn in Victoria,” he says, “and I think it’s just a really good thing to provide and have for students in today’s world.”
Cervantes hopes that the on-campus housing will bring something to Camosun students.
“Hopefully it’ll help and benefit all the students,” she says, “so we are looking forward to it.”