A UVic student group is disappointed to hear a UVic-owned property in the 13-hundred Broad Street is slated to become a hotel, not condos that would have offered rentals for UVic Graduate students.
The Ducks Building, built in 1892, is a heritage building, which was beqeathed to the university.
The original plan was for a 7-storey condo building offering 104 units for sale at market rates, and 59 rentals -- with UVic graduate students given preference for those.
But the plan has now been ditched in favour of reducing the building to 6 floors, and making it a hotel.
Mehdi Heshemi, of the UVic Graduate Students' Society, says students were not aware the university was looking at changing the plan:
" We were surprised becaused we weren't consulted. We found out about this news, not throughuniversity channels, but through the media. And it was disappointing, because we wanted to see consultation with the students, and the Graduate Student Society representing graduate students at UVic.
He says a survey the society shows one of the top 3 major obstacles to academic progress for UVic grad students is the lack of affordable housing.
Meantime, President and CEO of UVic Properties, Peter Kuran did not return CFAX 1070's call. But he told the Times Colonist the hotel will generate revenue for the university, which would then support operations on campus -- such as student housing.