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INUVIK
Students from Aurora College have now taken up new residences around town following the closure of the Blueberry Patch.

Aurora College campus director Doug Robertson and housing officer Robbie Joe paid a visit to the now-closed Blueberry Patch units that served as student residences. - T. Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo

The family housing units, located on Kugmallit, Inuit and Centennial Roads, were closed earlier this year following years of problems. Campus director Doug Robertson said the buildings, which comprise 50 three-bedroom units, were built in the 1960s to house Canadian Forces members.

"Everybody is out now," said Robertson on March 6.

Students began leaving the units on Feb. 14 to move into apartments around Inuvik operated by the NPR Limited Partnership (formerly called Northern Properties Real Estate Investment Trust), he explained.

"There have been a lot of maintenance concerns in the last 15 years," Robertson said. "A lot of money has been spent in maintenance. We did what we could to make them safe but there are piling issues and the mechanical systems are old and unserviceable."

The college turned to a private-market solution as at least a temporary measure, Robertson said, and put out a request for proposals late last year in partnership with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment and the Department of Public Works and Services.

NPR came forward with an offer the college found acceptable, Robertson said. The college needed space for its students while Northern Properties REIT had vacant units. Twenty-eight student families have now moved into 34 NPR units around town, Robertson said.

So far, he said there have been some immediate advantages to the move.

"They were happy to get out business," he said. "And we have a better mix of units now."

The students have been placed in anything from two- to four-bedroom units, which offers better fits for their individual situations.

At the residences at the Blueberry Patch, students were placed in three-bedroom units regardless of the size of their families.

All moving expenses were covered by the college.

Robbie Joe, the housing officer for the Aurora campus, said so far students are "really enjoying" their change of scenery. The apartments are warmer, better decorated, and feature comfortable features in some cases like on-site and on-floor laundry facilities.

In an earlier interview, Robertson said the subsidized rental units, which are leased only to full-time students from out of town, cost $465 a month plus utilities. Renters will not have to pay more if they are moved.

The college has signed a three-year deal with NPR for the units, with options for two one-year extensions that would run consecutively.

"Hopefully we'll have a new housing plan before the end of three years," Robertson said. "But the reality is that Inuvik has had more than its share of capital funding in recent years. We have a lot of new buildings here."

He wouldn't hazard a guess as to the cost of constructing new residences for the students.

The Blueberry Patch, which is owned by the GNWT, will now go on the list of properties in town slated for demolition.

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