More Housing in Dartmouth, Stellarton for Community College Students

New affordable, accessible campus housing at three Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) campuses will house 350 students and ease pressure on the housing supply in those communities.

Construction is underway at NSCC’s Akerley campus in Dartmouth and the Pictou campus in Stellarton. Those facilities are expected to open in September 2024, while construction at the Ivany campus in Dartmouth is set to begin with an expected opening in September 2025. The Province is investing $112 million in the three projects.

“With our strong population growth, we have an urgent need for more housing options around the province, including for our young people in post-secondary education,” said Premier Tim Houston. “Housing takes time to build and that’s why we were quick to announce significant investments in campus housing in the Dartmouth and Pictou regions. It’s great to see the progress being made on these projects, as they are an important part of our larger housing strategy.”

New campus housing at three NSCC campuses was one of the actions announced in the Province’s housing and homelessness strategy, released in October 2021. The Province is currently doing research, working with partners and considering innovative projects in other jurisdictions to develop a student housing strategy in the coming months – a first for Nova Scotia.

To help attract the skilled workers needed to build infrastructure like campus and community housing, the government is offering eligible skilled workers a return of a portion of provincial taxes through the More Opportunity for Skilled Trades (MOST) program.

Quotes:

“I’ve been speaking directly to students in my first year as Minister, and I’ve consistently heard that housing has been a long-standing issue that should have been addressed years ago. We’re focused on developing a provincewide student housing strategy that will help address the housing needs of post-secondary students now and in the future.”

– Brian Wong, Minister of Advanced Education

“These projects – expected to be completed in 2024 and 2025 – are great news for our students and these three campus communities. This incredible investment by the Province will go a long way to improve access and, in turn, the opportunities for those wishing to pursue an education and a positive future.”

– Don Bureaux, President, Nova Scotia Community College

“I am pleased this government is stepping up with such a large investment to help remove one of the barriers to education – affordable housing options. I am so grateful that this future campus facility will add another vital resource to assist with the college’s goal of supporting student success.”

– Aastha, member, NSCC Student Association, Akerley campus

Quick Facts:

• the campus housing sizes are: Akerley – 100 beds, 4,459 square metres (48,000 square feet); Ivany – 200 beds, 8,919 square metres (96,000 square feet); Pictou – 50 beds, 2,230 square metres (24,000 square feet)
• there are about 3,700 students enrolled at these three campuses
• the Province’s accessibility strategy, Access by Design 2030, outlines how the government achieves an accessible province by providing persons with disabilities with equitable access to programs, services, information and infrastructure
• the MOST program will return provincial personal income tax paid on the first $50,000 of earnings for eligible people under the age of 30, starting in the 2022 tax year

Additional Resources:

News release – Province Takes Action to Increase Housing, Protect Tenants: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20211020001

News release – New Program to Help Attract and Retain Young Skilled Workers: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20220608002

Access by Design 2030: https://novascotia.ca/accessibility/access-by-design/

Mandate Letter of the Minister of Advanced Education: https://novascotia.ca/exec_council/letters-2021/ministerial-mandate-letter-2021-AE.pdf

Mandate Letter of the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing: https://novascotia.ca/exec_council/letters-2021/ministerial-mandate-letter-2021-MAH-EMO-MR.pdf