Some big news came out of Ryerson University last week. In a public-private-partnership with MPI Group, Ryerson University announced the proposal for a new student residence to serve the university's growing student body. Designed by IBI Group, the tower will reach 23 storeys, and will provide more the 500 spaces for Ryerson students. The residence will be within a ten minute walk of all of Ryerson's buildings.

Official Rendering for Ryerson U Student Residence

The project will be located at 186 to 188 Jarvis Street, between Queen East and Dundas. While the area has in the past had a bit of a bad rep, huge efforts are currently underway to significantly revitalize the district, with new condominiums in the works, largely due to its proximity to the downtown core. The new residence will sit upon a 2 storey podium fronting Jarvis, which will contain retail space meant to enliven the streetscape.

The new residence offers a new way in which universities can approach the growing need for student housing; with increasingly diverse and international students coupled with rent prices in the downtown core being at an all time high, public private partnerships benefit all parties, including the students. The MPI Group, which owns the site, will be responsible for financing the operation of the residence, as well as it's design and construction, while Ryerson will supply the tenants as well as be responsible for administration and programming.

The project is expected to be complete by 2016. In the meantime, we can expect similar development news coming from the urban campus as they simultaneously announced plans for an additional 2,000 new residences spaces by 2020. It's great to see our city's universities are not only in high demand, but taking an active role in gentrifying and re-envisioning areas of the city which many often overlook. For more information on Ryerson U Student Residence, including higher resolution views, check out the dataBase listing below, or drop by the Projects Forum to join the discussion.

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