New University of Regina residence ready for students
Students will be moving in to Kisik Towers on Friday and Saturday
There will be 600 more students living on campus at the University of Regina this academic year.
Students will be moving into the university's newest residence, Kisik Towers, on Friday and Saturday. Kisik means sky in Saulteaux.
University president Vianne Timmons said the school listened to students on what they wanted in the latest build.
"In the other towers, there are some rooms that have a shared bathroom and the students indicated that's not their preference," she said. "Students today are looking for a more comfortable life, more privacy."
The newest residence bumps the on-campus residency capacity to 10 per cent, which Timmons said is still below the national average.
That's music to the ears of the University of Regina Students Union president Devon Peters.
"This is a really cool opportunity because a lot of our programming ends up getting directed at the students who live on campus," he said. "Having a bigger community, it just means you can do more. There's more opportunity, more people coming out."
Timmons also touts the buildings as more energy efficient than the last residence towers, built in 2005.
The bill, she said, is "not much more" than those towers, either.
In Sept. 2013, the university disclosed to the government that the project was going to come in $9 million over budget.
U of R parking woes continue
While the towers are ready for residents, a nearby parking lot is not complete.
The university says that part of the project won't be finished until November, which Peters called "a bummer" due to an ongoing parking crunch at the U of R.
Timmons said residents will be able to find parking elsewhere on campus, but it might include a bit of a hike.
Classes begin on Tuesday, Sept. 8.