August 30, 2012 - With the snip of a ribbon, Laurentian University today officially opened the newest residence facility on the Ramsey Lake Road campus. The New Residence is a 12-storey complex providing accommodation for 236 upper year students in ‘suite-style’ living spaces.
The New Residence is the 5th Laurentian residence on campus, and the first since the adjacent West Residence was opened in 2006. Along with the residences of the three Federated Universities (Huntington, Thorneloe and the University of Sudbury), Laurentian now has 8 residence facilities on its main campus. The New Residence brings total campus housing capacity to 1600.
“This beautiful new building allows us to meet the significant and growing demand for residence accommodation, while adding a fresh look to our campus silhouette,” said Laurentian Vice-President, Administration, Carol McAulay.
The New Residence has 62 self-contained apartments, each unit having three or four single bedrooms, two bathrooms, and shared living room and kitchen. The apartments are also wired for cable TV, high-speed internet and telephone service. The New Residence will serve 3rd and 4th year students and is already filled to capacity as the fall 2012 academic year is set to open.
Laurentian guarantees a place in residence for first-year students, who make up about 35% of all students living in residence. The university also has a high proportion of returning students who are seeking accommodation on campus, according to Manager of Residences Ben Demianiuk.
“Laurentian is unique in that so many of our students want to live on campus throughout their 3 or 4 years of study,” said Demianiuk. “The New Residence responds to the needs of the upper year students, allowing for privacy and quiet spaces while also providing ready access to all of the amenities and social activities of residence life,” he added.
“It really is a wonderful place to live and to study. It’s a very comfortable environment with some very impressive views,” said SGA President Andrew Rollins. “We’re fortunate to have this kind of facility to add to our housing supply here on campus.”
The $20M project was designed by local architects J.L.Richards and built by Sudbury-based construction firm TESC Contracting.