By: Isabella Urbani, Staff Writer
Editor’s Note: A correction was made to this article on June 12, 2023 to note that room prices are $3,920, regardless of room type.
On May 19, SFU announced the opening of its newest residency on Burnaby campus. Courtyard, created primarily for first-year and some second-year students, is named after its courtyard hub which will feature “swings, ping pong tables, and open-air gathering spaces.” It will also be home to the SFU residence and housing main building. The building’s garden — the Madge Hogarth Sensory Garden — will pay tribute to the namesake of SFU’s first ever residency building, the Madge Hogarth House, where the courtyard residency is located upon.
Although the new building will be equipped with utilities like a laundry room and wifi, it will not include individual cooking facilities in rooms, meaning students will need to be on the campus meal plan.
In addition to the residency buildings, the courtyard residence will also have 17 short-term stay suites. “SFU has guest accommodations for short-term stays to guests travelling alone, in groups, or as part of our SFU community,” said Zoe Woods, director of residence and housing, in an interview with The Peak.
These suites, known as The Simon, were previously located at another residency building: the Shadbolt House. With their relocation to the courtyard residence, the 14 short-term stay suites at the Shadbolt House will now become homes which can be moved into starting this fall. This will increase the new student residency next semester from 369 to 383 students.
“Increasing student housing reduces pressure on the local housing market,” said Woods, adding that creating spaces for students to live on campus amid the ongoing housing crisis in Vancouver “helps to alleviate worry for students in finding a place to live so they can focus on their studies.”
With the completion of the building, SFU is officially on stage three of their five-stage Residence and Housing plan established in 2015. Also a part of the second stage was the expanded dining commons in August of 2022, with 500 seats and 10 new culinary stations.
By 2035, SFU plans to provide housing for 10% of the student population. The Burnaby campus currently has more than 2,450 beds out of their projected 3,250. Prior to the courtyard residence, SFU built residency halls in June 2021 and one and two-bedroom apartments for graduate students and students with a common-law partner or child in September 2022. Housing for third and fourth-year students, including four-bedroom and studio apartments, will be introduced in the third stage and has not yet been given a launch date.
In total, $113-million was spent on financing the courtyard residence — $73-million provided by the provincial government. SFU revealed in their press release about the courtyard residence’s grand opening that the space is “designed to reflect Indigenous culture in the region.
“Engagement and consultation were conducted during the design process to ensure culturally relevant design materials and layouts were included in the project,” explained Woods. The residency is “intended to support Indigenous learners by providing a community gathering space within the building and an outdoor space that connects to nature.”
According to Woods, Gabriel George, a traditional speaker and singer from the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, was also present to open with a ceremony for the courtyard residency’s opening on May 19.
In Fall 2023, the starting cost for a semester in the courtyard residency will be $3,920.
More information can be found at the SFU residence and housing website.
