Dignitaries cut ribbon to open Selkirk College Tenth Street Residence
By Nelson Daily Staff
Post-secondary students in Nelson now officially have a place to hang their hats after Selkirk College officially opened its Tenth Street Residence Monday morning.
“For many years, students at Selkirk College, in particular those attending programs in Nelson were challenged to find affordable housing,” said Angus Graeme, President of Selkirk College.
“More recently the situation was becoming serious enough that in many cases it was affecting their decision regarding whether or not to attend Selkirk College. That is now changed.
The completed facility, which actually opened in September 2011, provides on- campus accommodation for over 100 residents in modern three and five bedroom pods, complete with shared laundry and kitchen facilities or single rooms with shared amenities.
Renovations began three years ago with the submission of an application to Western Economic Diversification’s (WED) Community Adjustment Fund for funding to renovate the old residences in June of 2009.
That application was eventually approved and $7 million was made available.
While the application for funding was submitted to WED, approval was only achieved through cooperation and contributions from Columbia Basin Trust, the BC Ministry of Advanced Education and the City of Nelson.
“You had a shovel ready project, a project manager and you worked with a team; this is all about partnerships,” Lake Country MP Ron Cannan, representing the federal government.
Columbia Basin Trust was an important member of that partnership.
“This project is a great example of a community tackling a problem in an innovative way by making use of an underutilized community asset” said Am Naqvi, board member of the Trust.
Nelson Mayor John Dooley reminded the well wishers gathered in the residence atrium that the development had some key components attached to it.
“It created employment when it was badly needed and it also created an opportunity to provide housing for students and that was one of the biggest needs in the development of Selkirk College.”
Students interested in applying for accommodations should contact the Residence Coordinator, Carolyn Tuai, at 250-505-1393 or email tenthstreetresidence@selkirk.ca.
