The Pond’s Edge complex will provide more living, shopping, and office space by 2015
Mark Grant
Photo Editor
The newly proposed residence, retail, and office-space complex, Pond’s Edge, is set for phase one of its construction, according to York administration.
The ground has already been cleared in the space between Pond Residence and Osgoode Hall, the site for phase one, which will offer hundreds of beds in the student housing section, as well as 20,000 square feet of retail space.
“Phase one will be completed hopefully in August of 2015,” says Henry Morton, president of Campus Suites.
In a press release, the university announced construction companies Campus Suites and Forum Equity Partners have been chosen to handle the multi-stage project.
The cost of the construction is to be absorbed by the two companies, both of which will recuperate building costs through rental fees on the retail and residence spaces with no ostensible cost to York.
The renovations to other college residences, however, are expected to cost the university around $70 million, a cost York plans to cover through a 3.5 per cent residence fee increase over the next 10 years.
Morton says that office space will not be developed during phase one of Pond’s Edge but retail and student housing spaces will be.
He says specific retail tenants have yet to be chosen, but a number of student-related services, convenience stores, drugstores, restaurants, and grocery venues are being considered.
The announcement of the Pond’s Edge project comes in the wake of student outcry against the closure of the Founders Residence, one of the first student residences built on the Keele campus.
“Founders was closed for a number of reasons,” Morton explains. “Part of [that] was that some of the colleges have been unable to keep up with the modern demands of students.”
Most of the undergraduate residences at York are designed with first-year students in mind, as opposed to the needs of students in second year or higher.
“In many cases, the colleges realized they needed updating,” says Morton. “I think Founders has had a little bit of a resurgence lately and there’s a debate, there’s discussion afoot about whether the residence should be reopened or not,” he says.
Pond’s Edge will be marketed to students in second year and higher, with a focus on attracting students who currently live near campus.
Morton elaborated on the potential growth in the campus population coming from the Toronto Yonge Spadina Subway Extension currently under construction on campus.
“We are hoping the subway will be an attraction for a lot of people who might otherwise live elsewhere,” he says. “We’re interested in attracting many of those who are off campus to come closer to campus.”
Following the success of international student applications to Pond residence, students coming to study at York from abroad are also a key asset to the forthcoming residence.
“People will see the university as more attractive, with more attractive housing options for [students] to consider,” Morton says. “We’re also looking at the strong international push that the university is making today and hoping to attract a significant number of [international students].”
