More student housing coming to London

In a bid to ease London's housing crunch, the construction of two new residences at Western University is being accelerated.

The goal is to have spaces ready for 1,000 students by 2026 — Minster of Municipal Affairs and Housing Paul Calandra was in London on Tuesday to celebrate the announcement.

He was touting the Ontario government’s plans to build more homes faster, “When you remove obstacles, when you give people the opportunity to get shovels in the ground, they will do it.”

Speaking at a press conference inside one of Western’s current student housing residence, Calandra said new units announced by Western last August, will free up affordable homes for people in London.

“A thousand units of housing for our students, that means students aren’t competing with families for housing in the community, it means that a 1,000 students will have access to the services that a university like Western has to offer.”

The minister added that the province has exempted publicly assisted universities from the planning act, removing many municipal planning approvals, reducing fees and enabling these institutions to build more student housing faster.

Western said that an undergraduate residence on University Drive, beside Elgin Hall will provide housing for 772 beds students, and an apartment will be built for 290 upper-year and graduate students on Platt’s Lane.

VP of operations and finance Lynn Logan, said that the investment ensures more options for students, "It allows us to make sure that we're keeping our first year residents guarantee, Western has grown, quiet substantially over the last few years, so our first year entering class is around 6,400.”

Mayor Josh Morgan said that the new resident spaces will not only help the city with its target to build 47,000 new homes over the next decade, but it will also draw more students to London, “The opportunity for students to continue to live in residents in their first year is something that I got to do when I first came to Western and the City of London.”

Currently, Western can accommodate 7,000 students in 11 on-campus residence buildings, the two new residences are expected to be ready in time for September 2026.