Ground will soon break on a new building at Stellarton’s Nova Scotia Community College campus.
The provincially-funded student housing project will be 24,000 square feet and include a mix of single-person units and communal units for a total of around 50 beds.
Campus principal Maxine Mann is excited to see construction start and says it will be a huge benefit when it opens in fall 2023.
“I think it’s going to be very important,” she said. “We already have people asking when it’s going to open.”
The building will be four storeys and will meet the standards to receive Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification and meet the environmental requirements for the LEED V4 Gold Standard.
The building will be constructed next to the main building and face Acadia Avenue. A skywalk will enable students to walk to the main campus building without going outside.
Architectural work for the build is being completed by Fowler, Bauld & Mitchell and the construction manager is Maxim Construction Inc.
“I think it’s going to fulfil a couple needs for students in our community. One will be housing for students, removing them from the rental market, which we know is very squeezed,” Mann said. “It also is going to allow us to attract students who would like to come to our campus but live farther away – for example, Pictou Landing First Nation, where there isn’t an easy transportation link.
Students who choose to live on campus will have the added benefit of public transportation through Pictou County Transit.
“The fact that we already have a bus route that stops at our campus and brings people into town is really great,” she said.
Mann said she is thankful the provincial government chose their campus for this project.
“It really does change how a rural campus will be viewed and brings, of course, a lot of different students in. I look forward to showing it to the community not only as it’s being built, but also when we have more plans. I hope people will come and take a look at them.”
Student enrolment dropped during the pandemic when in-person classes were limited but has started to surge again, Mann said.
Stellarton Mayor Danny MacGillivray credits Pictou Centre MLA Pat Dunn, who lobbied to have the Pictou Campus included in the NSCC growth plans.
He said the project will benefit our town in a myriad of ways.
“This new residence is a win for the NSCC, a win for the students, and a win for the Town of Stellarton.”
The project was one of three first announced by the provincial government in October 2021 as a way to address the housing crisis.
“The housing crisis is real and Nova Scotians expect us to act,” said Premier Tim Houston said at the time. “We’ll do what needs to be done to make sure Nova Scotians can afford a place to call home. We will not wait.”
