Some U of C students put up in a hotel as residence hits capacity

Some students attending the University of Calgary this year will be staying at the Aloft hotel because residence is at capacity, a university official said.

About 50 rooms at the nearby hotel were leased by the U of C to accommodate students who weren't able to secure a spot in residence. An additional 89 students are still on a wait list for housing.

"We were able to help out a few more students through that process," Shane Royal, senior director of ancillary services at the university, told CBC News.

The U of C currently has 3,100 spaces for students living in residence and is looking into a long-term plan to expand its residence space. However, it is only in the budgetary phase right now.

"That's many years in the making for that to happen," Royal said. 

"So in the interim, we were just looking at, are there other partnerships or opportunities we can have where we can increase capacity? And it just worked out that they had availability and they were able to commit some space, and the pricing worked out to where we thought students would be able to afford it."

He said about 1,300 students moved into nine different residence buildings on Sunday — mostly first-year students. Many students in other years will be moving in next week.

Residence fees cost in the thousands of dollars per academic term, but vary according to accommodation. 

"The pricing is obviously a little bit different than what you'd pay for on campus, but it's comparable," Royal said. "We manage everything with the hotel behind the scenes."

He added the university may consider doing something similar in the next couple of years if residence demand remains high.

Post-secondary students looking to live off-campus in Calgary are facing a tight rental market that could last some time yet, leaving many scrambling to find affordable accommodation.

According to a report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation released earlier this year, the rental vacancy rate for the Calgary metropolitan area is likely to fall to 1.1 per cent this year and drop further to one per cent in 2025.

After jumping 14.3 per cent in 2023 to $1,695, the CMHC's April forecast said the average rent for a two-bedroom unit is expected to increase again to $1,859 this year and then $1,922 the next.

That rapid growth is forecast to slow down in 2026, with a projected average rent of $1,951.

Move-in Day

Caitlyn Gilbert, senior community ambassador at the University of Calgary, told CBC News she was busy helping hundreds of students move into residence on Sunday.

"Each resident is assigned to a community ambassador here," Gilbert said. "They help sign up for their classes. They help get them settled in."

Ambassadors like her help students adjust to living on their own for the first time, and help manage their nervousness. She says living on campus can help students build a sense of community.

"You don't have to commute to class. You have that extra time to study or hang out with friends," Gilbert said.

She's lived at the university's residence for five years. When she leaves, she says she'll miss going to campus events and the ease of being able to interact with others her age who live on the same floor.

"You just walk down the hall and knock on people's doors and there's always someone ready to hang out with you or study with you."