Founders House to be moved to Vanier rez floors

Jacqueline Perlin
Assistant News Editor
While Founders residence is set to close at the end of the year, students will still have the option of living in a Founders house – though it will be located in Vanier residence.
“This is a welcome step,” said Founders College president Robert Cerjanec, who confirmed the closure of Founders residence has been solidified.
“It makes sense on [the administration’s] side from a financial standpoint,” said Cerjanec, who also said the new house would accommodate both returning and new students.
Vp students Robert Tiffin said the idea of a Founder’s house in Vanier came out of the discussions at the open forum held Feb. 9, and that the option has already been added to the list of choices on the housing website for residences in the next year.
Debbie Kee, director of housing services, further explained that students returning to residence have been notified they can change their first building of choice to the Vanier-Founders House.
While Founders residence currently houses about 125 students, the Founders house will take up two floors in Vanier residence and will accommodate about 50 students and will be overseen by a Founders-appointed residence don.
Cerjanec said it would be possible to add more rooms in the future if there is enough demand from students.
York admin have begun to look at what they will do with Founders residence, but haven’t come to any decisions yet.
Cerjanec said the building will be renovated into a suite-style residence or a hybrid model residence, which will be comprised of half-undergrad and half-graduate student suites.
“I think it’s a no-brainer to move towards that direction in our residences,” he said, adding that over 600 returning students have reapplied to live in residence and over half want to live in Pond – a residence made up of suites.
Cerjanec also said changes to residences are necessary, especially now that the City of Toronto has begun harmonizing the bylaws in the York village. According to Cerjanec, a section of this bylaw would set restrictions on the number of rooms allowed per house, which could lead to a reduction in the number of students living in the Village and ultimately push people back to York residence life.
Nevertheless, Kee said that, “absolutely no decisions have been made” at the moment with regards to Founders residence, but that the residence will remain empty into the next year as steps will be taken to reduce the cost of operations and custodial services within the building.