Student housing project in Salmon Arm impacted by weather, trades availability; will open in January 2025

SALMON ARM - You can’t miss the new 60-bed student housing building at Okanagan College’s Salmon Arm campus. Nearing the end stages of construction, it will soon be home to people pursuing education and training in everything from Arts, Science, and Business to careers in trades and health care.

However, the unexpected cold snap that hit the region last winter had a cascading impact on the construction schedule, and while efforts were made to make up the time, the College has now announced the building won’t be ready for the fall semester.

“While we had planned for the student housing in Salmon Arm to be completed this summer, that’s just not the reality today, due to factors beyond our control,” said Dr. Samantha Lenci, OC’s provost and vice president academic. “We are reaching out directly to students who indicated they’d be interested in on-campus housing in Salmon Arm this fall, and we will help them identify alternative solutions in the meantime.”

“The delay is not what we wanted – but it is worth the wait. Once this building is fully constructed and open, it will have a significant impact on our Salmon Arm campus and learners from across the Shuswap and the Interior region, who need a place to call home while they’re completing their studies. Whether that’s students from communities such as Revelstoke and Clearwater or beyond, we know that this new building will bring opportunities that aren’t available right now,” Dr. Lenci added.

The province announced three new student housing projects for Okanagan College in March 2021, in Kelowna, Vernon and Salmon Arm. Construction began in Kelowna in 2022, while the Vernon and Salmon Arm projects broke ground in spring 2023.

In January/February, the schedule would have seen drywall installed in the Salmon Arm building, however the unusually cold and wet weather forced a delay. By the time the conditions were more favourable, the availability of skilled trades professionals was limited.

The revised opening date is now January 2025, aligning with the start of winter semester.

The new student housing buildings in Kelowna and Vernon are on schedule to open this fall. In Vernon, this includes the onsite Sunflower Childcare Centre, operated by Maven Lane.

Students who have applied for student housing in Salmon Arm, Vernon or Kelowna and who have questions about the status of their application are invited to contact the College’s student housing team at: [email protected] or 250-762-5445 ext. 5422.