Student co-op housing group meets Tuesday

Station Pointe project moving forward

Organizers of a co-operative student housing project are meeting Tuesday in an effort to generate interest in a facility being built in north-east Edmonton.

The development’s conceptualization, called Station Pointe, is in its preliminary stages. Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin next fall on land that has been secured near the Belvedere LRT station.

“Number one is popularizing the idea of a co-op to provide students with affordable housing because there's a real need,” said Andy Rathbone, president of the University of Alberta Student Co-op Housing Group.

“Food Bank use has increased tremendously, tuition continues to go up, and students need to have some stability in their lives in terms of knowing what their costs are going to be for rent. This is one way of doing that.”

Rathbone has worked closely with Communitas, an organization that builds co-operative residences, to make the Station Pointe project student-focused.

“It’s something that’s viable for housing large numbers of students,” Rathbone said. “The members of the co-op jointly own the property, and they also participate in maintenance and management.”

The strategy allows the property’s costs to be greatly reduced, as it is run on a not-for-profit basis.

“The purpose is not to generate surplus income beyond what’s necessary to properly manage the project and make sure there are plans for future repairs and replacements,” explained Brian Scott, marketing, technology and research director for the Communitas Group.

With the potential plan, residents would buy into the co-op using one of two methods. They could buy shares in the project for a few thousand dollars, and then are able to redeem the shares for their money when they move out.

“They’re shareholders like in any other corporation. They have a say in how the place is run,” he noted.

The other method is called the ownership co-op.

“[The units] are sold initially at cost, then when they’re resold, they’re sold at a capped resale [market] value,” Scott said. “So, essentially you don’t pass that [cost] benefit onto the first purchaser and have it disappear.”

In both strategies, users also pay a non-refundable housing charge — which functions as rent — to go towards upkeep of the property.

The student co-op model has been successfully developed in other provinces, particularly in Ontario, where five such residences are in operation.

Marisa Charland, president of the Ontario Student Co-operative Association, is presenting at today’s event. She believes that aside from the tangible financial benefits, the living arrangement has other positives as well.

“It really encourages students to be a part of something bigger [...] to be a part of their community and surrounding environment,” Charland said. “It’s also giving them that responsibility that they actually own something, and have a really good foundation for later in life when they eventually own a home or a business.”

Since April, Communitas has finalized an agreement securing the land from the city of Edmonton, which is contingent on financing, viability, and design, Scott explained. Organizers hope to get commitments from potential members before moving on to final plans and securing funding.

A focus of early designs for Station Pointe has been environmental sustainability, an area the company prides itself on.

“We’re looking at the possibilities of some type of district heating system, solar collectors, either for hot water or heating or electricity [...] harvesting grey water and rainwater for irrigation,” Scott said.

Although the project is officially independent from the U of A, the Students’ Union and Grad Students’ Association have been involved in the discussions.

“Whether it’s from the GSA’s perspective or the SU, we just want to make sure that people have accommodations that are affordable and safe,” said Jen Landry, president of the GSA.

“[Station Pointe] is new. It’s different than what we’re usually asking for,” noted SU Vice President (External) Beverly Eastham. “If it turns out that it’s a better option for students and it’s going to be a viable project, than certainly [the SU is] interested, because [affordable housing] is still a big concern.”

Students interested in becoming members of the Station Pointe initiative can find out more at Tuesday's 12:30 p.m. meeting in 239 CAB.