GUELPH POLITICAST #466 – Remember The Alma? Oh.

We’re at the end of another school year, and while some students are looking forward to summer, they’re also looking forward to next fall. Or perhaps even stressing over it. Housing is a big issue in Guelph, and it’s somehow even bigger when it comes to student housing. Last summer, the largest first-year student enrolment ever weighed on students and the greater Guelph community, but relief may be coming if city council doesn’t get in the way(?).

So what, city council doesn’t want student housing in Guelph? Let’s just say it’s complicated. This is about phase two of the Alma, which is on the site of the former Holiday Inn at Stone and Scottsdale. The renovation of the old hotel was phase one, and phase two will add another nearly 600 beds, but there's a snag and it's whether or not Forum Asset Management has to pay over $15 million in development fees.

The Ontario government has made student residences exempt from DCs, but there’s some question about how you define “student residences”; does that apply only to student residences owned and operated by a post-secondary institution itself, or can it also apply to a private for-profit development like The Alma that just so happens to be on land owned by a university? This will be a question that council will have to answer on April 29, and this week, we will hear about the stakes.

Owen Ellis, who is the president of the Real Estate Students Association at the University of Guelph, is the guest this week to talk about the current state of student housing in the city, and what options that students would like to see when they're looking for a place to live in the Guelph. We also talk about the expectations and responsibilities for the University of Guelph, private developers, and why we all need to organize to do better for student renters.

So let's dig into another great housing debate on this week's Guelph Politicast!

You can check out the website for the app he’s working on here. City council will look at the appeal of the development charges for phase two of the Alma on Tuesday April 29, and that agenda will be published on the City’s website this Thursday. Remember: If you’re interested in hearing interviews with the candidates running in Guelph and Wellington-Halton Hills North (which includes parts of Guelph), tune in to Open Sources Guelph on Thursdays on CFRU 93.3 fm or cfru.ca, or download OSG on Monday on this feed.

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