The Waterloo City Council has approved three different housing developments in student central areas. The decision comes after the Waterloo municipality was awarded $6.4 million from the province after surpassing housing targets in 2024. According to Ontario’s housing supply tracker, Waterloo had a progress of 129.18 per cent for 2024.

Notably, a hotel will be built on UW campus in the David Johnston Research and Technology Park area at 380 Hagey Boulevard. It is proposed to include 216 guest rooms with a banquet hall, restaurant, lounge, and fitness areas. In addition to the hotel, a 30-storey apartment will be built at 177-179 Albert Street, approximately a 23-minute walk from SLC. With 231 total units, there will be a mix of one to three-bedroom units. Finally, two townhouses are planned at 137 and 141 Woolwich Street in the Bridgeport Road area, with a total of 11 units.

With three new housing developments, the city has only appointed four per cent of the units in the new apartment building on Albert Street as affordable housing.

A UW spokesperson stated, “With our campus and community continuing to grow and evolve, the University of Waterloo has approved the zoning required for the Kothari Group’s proposal to build a hotel at the David Johnston Research and Technology Park. The proposed location will offer convenient access at an upscale, renowned hotel brand for community residents, visiting researchers and academics, and visitors to the local companies and Waterloo’s sports facilities.”

The Kothari Group is a company that focuses on hotel management and development as well as general real estate development.

While the hotel and housing would be beneficial to the university in accommodating visitors to Waterloo, fourth-year legal studies student Leilani Sabatin expressed mixed feelings towards the new development. “It’s nice to see investment in the areas, especially as a student who finds housing in Waterloo, but I can’t help but wonder about how beneficial it would actually be for us students,” she said. “Affordable housing is already hard to come by. I think many of us would much rather see projects that directly address the demand for reasonably priced housing.”

Housing expert and associate professor Brian Doucet believes that a hotel could be beneficial to the university and finds interest in the former parking lot currently being turned into housing. He noted the importance in having a developer that is not seeking maximum profit and the importance of having a right vision and leadership when it comes to housing. Addressing Sabatin’s concern, he said, “If students are struggling to pay for housing, then maybe it [the university] could be more proactive and look at resources they have… Maybe the university should build it themselves and not look at private places.”