Some of the most popular rooms at the University of British Columbia’s residence this year are smaller than a parking spot.
New 140-square-feet nano suites in the university’s exchange residence cost $700 a month, have a fully-equipped bathroom, shower, stove top, bed, and desk, and a waitlist of over 1,300 students.
“The feedback has been incredibly positive,” said Andrew Parr, UBC’s managing director of student housing and hospitality services. “I have yet to see anything come across my desk that is negative.”
When UBC began the process of designing the nano-suites four years ago, the goal was to reduce the residence waitlist. But this hasn’t been the case, with the waitlist doubling to 6,000 students over the last eight years. With nano suites, the university has succeeded in providing affordable living spaces in Vancouver, B.C.
According to a 2019 report by Zoocasa, a Canadian brokerage company, Vancouver is Canada’s most expensive housing market, and the second most expensive market in North America.
The exchange residence, where the nano suites are located, is situated in the urban core of the UBC Vancouver campus, with immediate access to bussing, study, and music practice rooms, fitness facilities, as well asfood and retail.
The central location of the exchange residence is part of the key to its success, said Parr.
“The type of student who’s really active on campus is the right kind of student to appreciate this kind of living.” – Andrew Parr, UBC’s managing director of student housing and hospitality services.
“For the price I’m getting it for, to be on-campus, is something that I’m really grateful for,” said Yvonne Ko, a third-year interdisciplinary studies student living in a nano suite.
Ko, from Toronto, wanted to live in an affordable space close to campus without a roommate. She was also looking for a sense of community, and she found those features at the Exchange Residence.
“To have that all in one nano suite was just really perfect for me,” she said.
Rent was a key factor—Ko could have stayed in a studio apartment, but the cheapest listings were around $1,200.
“For me, that just wasn’t really affordable.”
In the nano suites, Ko said she has encountered little she doesn’t like. She’s okay with no dishwasher or oven, and said the minimalist lifestyle suits her.
“I’m genuinely really happy with everything.”
But in an online poll of 635 readers by the Vancouver Sun 33 per cent of respondents answered no when asked if they would live in a nano suite.
Even at $700 a month, the nano suites are still too expensive for students, Susannah Tysor, a PhD candidate in forest and conservation sciences at UBC.
“The prices are too high given the limited or nonexistent income of students,” Tysor said.
“I appreciate that UBC is trying here, but their arithmetic and/or assumptions about student finances are still unrealistic.” – Susannah Tysor, UBC PhD candidate.
The UBC housing services do have to turn a profit with the rent that they charge, Parr said.
“We’re an ancillary business – we have to use the rent solely to support our delivery of service.”
Currently, there are only 71 nano suites available to students, and they are open only to upper-year undergraduate and graduate students without families. Before building more, UBC is getting direct feedback from students and conducting two studies on community in residence to determine the success of the project.
Feature image courtesy of UBC.
