mcgill student fees at heart of $63-million student residence in downtown montreal
le méridien, a 13-storey in the heart of the latin quarter, will house 240 students in rent-controlled apartments.
3 minute read
montreal mayor valérie plante speaks with construction workers attached to a student housing project at st-laurent blvd. and ontario st. in montreal friday oct. 25, 2024.
john mahoney
/
montreal gazette
a new $63-million, 13-storey affordable student housing building in the heart of downtown montreal was officially launched friday, with $1.5 million in seed money coming from mcgill’s student union. le méridien, a building with 168 affordable student apartments ranging from studios to two-bedroom units housing 240 lower income students, will offer rents at up to 20 per cent below the standard prices in a neighbourhood where the average studio goes for $1,350 a month. more importantly, said montreal mayor valérie plante, as a social housing initiative, rental prices will be protected for the long term from price hikes affecting the private market.
local studies have found the typical student is paying up to $1,200 in monthly rent, $200 above the overall average, as montreal’s stock of available housing shrinks, said hugo-victor solomon, vice-president of external affairs for the students’ society of mcgill university. which is why the student union decided to help fund the initiative.
“options for students are increasingly limited and people should be able to enjoy their classes and not have to be worried about how much money is left in their bank accounts for rent at the end of the month,” he said, noting that costs have risen as well in student residences, while amenities are being scaled back.
advertisement
excavation taking place at the site of a student housing building at to be constructed at the corner of st-laurent blvd. and ontario st. in montreal friday oct. 25, 2024.
john mahoney
/
montreal gazette
the project is one of many spearheaded by utile (unité de travail pour l’implantation de logement étudiant), a non-profit corporation launched in 2012 by a group of université du québec à montréal students looking to create alternatives to cramped dorm rooms and pricey, crowded apartments amid a dearth of student housing.
le méridien is utile’s third project in montreal, coming after the woodnote, built across from la fontaine park in plateau-mont-royal borough, and the 123-unit rose des vents in montreal’s angus district. the social economy housing company has more than half a dozen similar projects in the works throughout quebec. as with the other projects, seed money from university student unions helped to secure further financing. concordia university’s student union put $1.85 million into the woodnote project, in exchange for getting first dibs on apartments for its students.
the students’ society of mcgill university raised the $1.5 million by putting a $6.53 levy on tuition fees over five years.
by 2027, utile will start construction on more than 1,000 apartments in six different student housing projects in montreal, the company’s co-founder and ceo laurent levesque said.
advertisement
“by building a high volume of non-profit student apartments, we will help maintain montréal’s status as an affordable university city,” he said.
laurent levesque, left, president and ceo of utile, with mayor valérie plante and federal minister for the environment and climate change steven guilbeault at an announcement about a student housing project in montreal friday oct. 25, 2024. utile is a non-profit corporation developer specializing in student housing.
john mahoney
/
montreal gazette
the new building, located at st-laurent blvd. and ontario st. e., is expecting to start admitting students in 2026. the lion’s share of the funding — $46.8 million — is coming from the federal government through the canada mortgage and housing corporation’s (cmhc) affordable housing fund (ahf). federal environment minister steven guilbeault, the member of parliament for the laurier—sainte-marie riding where the project is situated, was on hand for the presentation.
another $6.3 million is coming from the city of montreal. the fonds immobilier de solidarité ftq granted a $9-million loan to finance the purchase of land.
situated in a traditionally rundown sector of the city’s downtown core, officials hope the influx of 240 students will help to revitalize the area, located in the quartier latin and next door to the quartier des spectacles. a utile survey found that montreal has roughly 171,000 student tenants, two-thirds of whom lived outside the region before coming to study in the city.
asked about accusations that international students are partly to blame for montreal and canada’s lack of affordable housing, solomon said that by creating units designated for students, more spaces are opened up on the private market for families who are experiencing the same crisis.
