Massive student residence tower could transform University of Toronto campus

Toronto's College Street could look very different in the years to come, thanks to a planned sky-scraping student residence tower set to soar high above the downtown arterial.

The University of Toronto has announced plans to build a new student residence building at 167-171 College St., at the southwest corner of McCaul — currently home to a pair of buildings, including one home to the recently opened Tex-Mex sports bar The Copper Boot, which would be demolished to make way for the new tower.

U of T announced the College Street development along with another planned student residence on Monday as part of the university's "Build More Housing Initiative," expected to add up to 5,500 new residences near U of T's three campuses through a partnership model with private developers.

2023 view of the buildings targeted for redevelopment (The Smith House has since been replaced by The Copper Boot): Google Street View.

The planned 49-storey tower on College, along with another approximately 13-storey building planned at 40-56 Harbord Street, will see U of T partner with private developer Tricon Living, with both buildings to be owned and operated by the university.

Approved by U of T's Governing Council on June 25, the two new projects are expected to contribute more than 1,200 beds to U of T's St. George campus.

The pair of buildings will target LEED Gold certification and aim to achieve this energy efficiency metric through features including green roofs, geothermal heating and "high-performance" exterior facades.

Similar private partnerships with U of T have already resulted in the institution's Oak House at Spadina and Sussex, its Harmony Commons project at UTSC, as well as a 20 per cent stake in the privately-owned CampusOne student residence building — the first in what is now becoming a series of student housing buildings along College Street.

U of T's presidential adviser on real estate, Scott Mabury, explained how student housing currently "costs the university approximately $300,000 per bed," and noted that "this new partnership approach will cut that cost dramatically."

"Under the terms of this new model, U of T has structured a shoulder-to-shoulder partnership that requires no incremental capital outlay for the university," said Mabury.

Mabury states that the lowered costs of this private partnership will allow U of T to earn income from the property, which will be put towards further capital improvements.

"We're reinventing the model of student housing to greatly increase housing options for our students, faster and more sustainably, and to allow us to direct more funding to teaching, research and student supports," said Mabury.

Currently, only a little over 10 per cent of the over 100,000 students enrolled at U of T live in university-owned or affiliated housing. However, there is a clear supply issue at hand, with fewer than 11,000 residences across three campuses nowhere near enough to house students. 

This has resulted in capacity being filled by investor-geared condominium units with miserably small layouts and unpredictable rent changes, leaving students unable to secure university-owned accommodations in a precarious position.

In addition to the obvious financial benefits, students who live in residence have been noted to perform better academically, according to Janice Johnson, U of T's executive director of student housing and residence experience.

And the issue isn't limited to U of T. A lack of student housing at major colleges and universities shaped the provincial government's Bill 185, which seeks to promote the construction of student housing, including through partnerships between institutions and developers.