Welland is a city full of growth, mirroring the regional growth we're seeing, both commercially and residentially. Last week, the green light was given from Welland City Council to begin the development of a new condominium building in the city.
The residential building will be located at Niagara Street, just south of Woodlawn Road. The building, called The Locke, will be seven storeys tall, and will have 42 units. The building is planned to be built in 2018.
Meeting rising student demands
The condo development is in works to meet the rising demands of the Niagara College student population in the city. The building will be marketed directly to the students. Though it will be located on one of the busiest streets in Welland, city councillors are confident that the area will be able to support the incoming population.
The college, as well as nearby Brock University, is succeeding and growing at a steady rate, and as a result it’s important for the city to grow with it. Niagara College currently has 10,000 undergraduate students studying at the college, with most living in the city of Welland. Brock University also attracts a population of around 18,000 students enrolled full time. The building is located close enough to convenient routes for students to get to the university, making the condominium and ideal student residence for the rising number of students entering and living in the region.
Is it in the right location?
Though city councillors insist that the area will be able to support an intensified student population, some councillors disagreed. The disagreement was based around location, not the building itself. Rather than have the building located on Niagara Street, one councillor suggests that the condominium should be located downtown, away from such a busy and dangerous intersection.
Niagara Street is growing as a commercial district, however, and the growth of that area can support a new high-rise building with increased student traffic.
Following the footsteps of other college cities
The inspiration to utilize condominiums comes from major student driven cities, such as Waterloo or London, where multiple universities and colleges have students spilling out all over the city. The city states that the best way to combat this is to create student marketed housing and keep them centrally located.
The condos themselves are intended to be sold out to investors as rental income properties. These properties will likely be marketed out to students looking to rent while they are in school.
